Battlestar Profile 002 BS 62 Mercury Class Battlestar Pegasus

In the closing days of the Cylon War, the Colonial Fleet began a program to build a series of very powerful Battlestars.  Derisively referred to as the "bigger is better" period, the post-year wars saw a glut of massive heavily armed vessels capable of carrying more than twenty squadrons.  Rising costs and punishing maintenance requirements forced the fleet to cut back and go for more conservatively sized vessels, incorporating the many lessons learned during the war.  This culminated in the Mercury Class a highly sophisticated Battlestar armed with the latest weaponry, advanced fighters, extensive automation which allowed dramatic crew reduction compared to the earlier Battlestars.

The Pegasus is the second vessel out of seventeen in its class and the second Battlestar to carry this name, the name belonging previously to a Columbia Class Battlestar.  Considered to be the new mainstay of the fleet, assignments to the Pegsus are much coveted by Fleet officers and personnel.  Well armed with a potent foward battery and dozens of KEW turrets it is one of the more powerful ships in the fleet.  A full suite of advanced ECM adds further protection to the already thick skin of the Pegasus.  Carrying up to 12 squadrons of fighters and 60 Raptors, there is little the Pegasus cannot handle.  Pegasus is due to be refitted at the Scorpion Shipyards within the coming year with planned upgrades to the FTL drive, crew facilities and integration into the Colonial Fleet CNP program.  Until then it is conducting long range patrols along the Armistice Line, guarding the Twelve Colonies against renewed Cylon aggression.

Commander : Rear Adm Helena Cain
XO : Colonel Jurgen Belzen
CAG : Captain Cole Taylor
Complement : 10-12 squadrons of fighters, up to 60 Raptors
Armament : 4 Lightning-6 forward batteries, 30 Lightning-5 twin turrets, 620 StarSweeper IV CIWS.  24 missile bays.