"Forbidden Garden" Battlestar Galactica #9 (Dynamite) Writer: Greg Pak Art: Nigel Raynor Colors: Inlight Studio Letters: Simon Bowland Cover B: Nigel Raynor 2007

Captain Valerii leads her army into the Cylon Empire, spreading her retrovirus to the Cylons as she goes.

Story Summary

In a secret meeting room aboard the Galactica, a number of mourners hold an unlawful memorial for the fallen Returners, Dee among them. The memorial is busted up by military police and Dee and Commander Adama have a heart-to-heart about it.

In Cylon space, Captain Valerii leads her crew of Centurions and Returners to a large Cylon space station. They are greeted by hostile Raiders, but her Centurions infect the Raiders, who then let them pass and board the station. The infection then spreads to the modern Centurions on board, leaving the humanoid Cylon models at a loss. Valerii demands to know who she really is, what do her false, human memories mean? Meanwhile, the Returner Darrin Dualla and his cohorts who've travelled with her, have a mission of their own, at the request of Commander Adama.

Captain Valerii is led into the space station, where she suddenly finds a verdant jungle. A gray cat she "remembers" from her youth leads her to a dwelling in the jungle where she meets a man she "remembers" as her boyfriend, Stan, before she left for the Colonial military service. She strikes him, angrily assuming the Cylons are just dumping more fake memories on her, as if that is what she really wants. But Stan tells her, "These are your memories...You're Sharon Prime. The real Sharon Valerii. The human."

CONTINUED IN BATTLESTAR GALACTICA #10

Didja Know?

The issues of this series were untitled. I assigned the title "Forbidden Garden" based on the jungle Captain Valerii finds in the Cylon space station, where she apparently learns a startling secret. The jungle is referred to as the Forbidden Garden by Number Six in the following issue "Memories".

Characters appearing or mentioned in this story

Darrin Dualla (Returner)

Zak Adama (Returner, mentioned only, deceased)

Petty Officer Dualla

Sister Iris Palania

Commander Adama

Captain Valerii (aka Sharon Prime)

Number Four

Number Six

Number Three

Number Five

Several versions of Number Eight

Number Two

Stan Ohari (last name revealed in "Memories")

Didja Notice?

This issue implies that Sharon Valerii's programmed memories of childhood include a pet gray cat, a male friend who became her boyfriend when they become teenagers, and a green couch in the Valerii family living room.