"Derelict" Battlestar Galactica #15 (Marvel) Written by Roger McKenzie and Walt Simonson Pencils by Walt Simonson Inks by Klaus Janson May 1980

Boomer investigates a derelict Caprican ship found floating in space.

Story Summary

The Galactica detects a Caprican distress signal from deep space and sends a team to investigate. They discover an ancient Caprican battle cruiser floating through space with minimal life support. Boomer dons a space suit and leaves the investigating shuttle, to board the cruiser by blowing a hatch from the outside.

Once aboard, he is quickly attacked by large space vermin of some sort. He drives them off with grenades and laser fire. Making his way through the ship, he steps over gnawed human bones and then discovers a mass of dead bodies on the ship's bridge. But one body turns out to be still barely alive, a woman. She tells him how she, along with others, took refuge in the underground viaducts and sewers when the Cylons attacked Caprica in "Annihilation". They survived underground for days, waiting for the assault to end. When they emerged, they learned of a fleet of survivors from all twelve colonies who fled the system. Finding an old Caprican battle cruiser overlooked in the confusion, they pursued the fleet, trying to catch up and join them. But they soon learned that the Cylons laced Caprica with a deadly virus that followed them aboard the cruiser. The resulting plague killed many of the humans and mutated the vermin on board into giant, voracious creatures which commenced to attack the crew.

The humans mounted their last stand on the bridge but finally exhausted their firepower and strength until she is the last left alive, but dying from the plague herself. She tells Boomer she regrets not knowing the fate of her husband after the Cylon attack on the Colonies...her husband Adama! Shocked, Boomer tells her of Adama's survival. The dying Ilya is happy to hear that her husband is alive and asks after her children, Apollo, Athena, and Zac. Boomer lies and tells her they all are fine. She then makes him swear not to tell her family about her terrible death, a victim of the Cylon plague. She dies in his arms.

Boomer shuts off the cooling system of the ship's fusion reactor to destroy the vessel with it's deadly cargo of pestilence. Then he escapes through a hatch and is picked up by the shuttle before the ship blows.

After going through an emergency decontamination procedure on the shuttle, Jolly comments that Boomer looks like death. "It was kinda rough on that ship, eh?" he asks.

"Jolly, you'll never know how rough."

THE END

Didja Notice? 

In this story, it is revealed that Commander Adama's wife, Ilya (spelled differently from how we've seen it elsewhere as Ila), along with others, took refuge in the underground viaducts and sewers when the Cylons attacked Caprica in "Annihilation". They survived underground for days, waiting for the assault to end. When they emerged, they learned of a fleet of survivors from all twelve colonies who fled the system. Finding an old Caprican battle cruiser overlooked in the confusion, they pursued the fleet, trying to catch up and join them.

Ilya's story reveals that the Cylons laced Caprica with a deadly virus that followed them aboard the battle cruiser.

Although Ilya is aware that the escaped Colonial fleet is led by a battlestar, she seems unaware that it is her husband's ship, the Galactica.

On page 23, the dying Ilya is happy to hear from Boomer that her husband is alive and asks after her children, Apollo, Athena, and Zac. Boomer lies and tells her they all are fine.

Also on page 23, Boomer swears to Ilya not to tell her family about her terrible death, a victim of the Cylon plague.