HADES
Battlestar — Mercury Class
BS — 77
"From the underworld we rise. Through fire we endure. The dead do not forget."
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The Battlestar Hades (BS-77) is a Mercury-class battlestar commissioned by the Colonial Ministry of Defense (CMOD) to serve as a frontline capital warship. Named for the Lord of the Underworld from ancient Kobolian mythology, Hades was built to be a harbinger — a vessel from which there is no retreat for those who stand against the Twelve Colonies.
Constructed at the Scorpia Fleet Shipyards and attached to the Tauron Fleet, Hades represents the pinnacle of Colonial military engineering: integrated command-navigation-combat architecture, quad-redundant damage control systems, and a fully automated ammunition foundry capable of manufacturing ordnance during sustained combat operations. Attached to the Tauron Fleet, Hades adds heavy firepower to Tauron's colonial defense perimeter.
Unlike her sister ships, Hades was purpose-built for deep-space interdiction and extended autonomous operations beyond the Red Line. Her assignment to the Tauron Fleet reflects the colony's martial heritage — Tauron demanded a warship that could fight alone and win. Her hull incorporates additional tylium storage bunkerage and reinforced armor plating along the ventral flight pods, allowing sustained combat operations without fleet support for up to eighteen months.
Following Rear Admiral Brouhard's insistence, Hades maintains a hard-isolated computer architecture — no networked systems, no integrated CNP software. Every fire-control solution is calculated by human hands. Every DRADIS contact is verified by human eyes. This doctrine would prove prescient.
"The Cylons were created by Man. They evolved. They rebelled. There are many copies. And they have a plan."— The Sacred Scrolls, Supplemental Threat Assessment
| Class | Mercury |
| Registry | BS-77 |
| Length | 1,789.8 meters |
| Beam | 581.4 meters |
| Height | 268.6 meters |
| Mass | ~8.4 million metric tons |
| Sublight Engines | 8x Voram VM7-D Turbos |
| FTL Drive | Dual FTL Mk. VII |
| Max FTL Range | Extended Red Line capable |
| Standard Crew | 2,600 personnel |
| Marines Detachment | 320 combat-rated |
| Air Wing Personnel | 480 (incl. deck crew) |
| Viper Squadrons | 4 active / 1 reserve / 1 Mk. I |
| Raptor Squadrons | 2 active |
| Civilian Capacity | ~500 (emergency) |
| Sickbay Beds | 84 standard / 6 surgical |
| Armor Type | Ablative Titanium-A Composite |
| Armor Thickness | Variable — up to 3.8m (bow) |
| DRADIS Array | Mk. X Long-Range Suite |
| ECM Suite | AN/SLQ-421 Ghostwire |
| Damage Control | Quad-redundant automated |
| Computer Network | Air-gapped / non-integrated |
Hull BS-77 is laid down as the seventh Mercury-class battlestar in the CMOD's fleet expansion program. Named Hades by the Quorum of Twelve — a controversial choice some Gemenese delegates considered an ill omen.
Rear Admiral Joe Brouhard assumes command. His first order: remove all Command Navigation Program software and revert to isolated, non-networked computer systems. CMOD Fleet Command reluctantly approves the request, citing his distinguished service record.
CMOD formally assigns Hades to the Tauron Fleet as a front-line capital warship. The Tauron colonial government — long known for its warrior traditions and hardline defense posture — had lobbied aggressively for a Mercury-class battlestar. Hades fits the colony's temperament perfectly: uncompromising, built for a fight, and commanded by an officer who refuses to rely on anything he can't trust.
Operating as the Tauron Fleet's primary deterrent, Hades runs the Armistice Line patrol circuit and conducts defense exercises in Tauron orbital space. Five years of relentless drilling under Admiral Brouhard's exacting standards forge the crew into one of the most combat-ready complements in the Colonial Fleet.
The Cylons return. In a single devastating assault, the Twelve Colonies are destroyed. The CNP backdoor disables the majority of the Colonial Fleet. Hades, operating beyond the Red Line on deep patrol with her air-gapped systems intact, survives the initial attack unscathed.
Hades encounters a Cylon pursuit force of three basestars within the Erebus Nebula. Rear Admiral Brouhard executes a close-range broadside attack, destroying two basestars and crippling the third before executing an emergency FTL jump. Hades sustains moderate damage to the port flight pod.
With the Colonies fallen and no contact with CMOD Fleet Command, Hades begins an independent campaign of survival. Gathering civilian refugee ships encountered along her route, the Battlestar Hades leads a small convoy into the void — searching for allies, resources, and a place beyond the reach of the Cylon fleet.