Aaron Kelly

Captain Aaron Kelly is the Landing Signal Officer aboard the battlestar Galactica leading up to its decommissioning circa , serving many roles aboard ship as needed in the aftermath of the Fall of the Twelve Colonies. He is part of Galactica's chain of command, suggesting that he is third-in-command behind Colonel Saul Tigh, and has demonstrated loyalty to Commander William Adama.
== First Exodus ==
Shortly after a Cylon nuclear weapon strikes Galactica in the initial wave of the Cylon attack, Kelly begins giving orders to aid crewmembers trapped or fighting damage in the port flight pod, where the detonation occurred, after Saul Tigh hesitates. Tigh soon countermands Kelly and orders the flight pod vented to stop the fires, resulting in the loss of multiple crewmembers but saving the ship in the process . 
While en route to Ragnar Anchorage, Kelly oversees the collection of dog tags for the service members lost aboard ship from a makeshift morgue on the hangar deck. He also assists in the capture of Aaron Doral . 
When Commander Adama is shot by the Cylon infiltrator Sharon Valerii, Lieutenant Felix Gaeta reminds him on his arrival to CIC that Kelly is now second-in-command. As a strong believer in Commander Adama's philosophy on computer networks, he voices his objections over networking Galactica computer systems after the battlestar loses the Fleet due to incorrect jump coordinates, asserting that the Old Man would never even consider Gaeta's option to network the computers for a faster jump calculation . Soon after, when Galactica is boarded by Cylon Centurions, Kelly assists Lieutenant Gaeta and Colonel Tigh in coordinating an effort to stop their advance .
Kelly returns to his day-to-day duties as LSO, coordinating Viper landings from the port hangar bay, as Commander Adama returned to duty and the normal chain of command was restored. He is on duty when Louanne Katraine, disoriented from stims, crash lands her Viper onto the landing bay .
During the Battle of New Caprica, and presumably in the year and four months leading to it, he performs Gaeta's role as Galactica's tactical officer .
== Second Exodus ==
When the trial of Gaius Baltar draws near, Kelly tries to disrupt the proceedings with a series of bombings. One of the attacks kills Baltar's lawyer. An attack on his next lawyer, Romo Lampkin, is thwarted only by chance. A third attack injures Lampkin. When questioned, Kelly says that he couldn't handle sending off pilots to their deaths anymore, and would continue to try if he is not locked up . Due to this, it is unlikely that he is currently on active duty in his role as LSO, and is incarcerated.
After the discovery of a devastated Earth, he is freed and joins Felix Gaeta's mutiny. He leads a squad of marines in pursuit of Admiral William Adama and Colonel Saul Tigh .
He later went to Colonial One, where he heard two marines gun down the Quorum of Twelve, after he is given an order by Tom Zarek. He returns to Galactica, where he defends an arms locker and runs into Galen Tyrol, who comes out of the air vents. At first, he contemplates killing him, but after a discussion, he lowers his rifle, before raising it again and tells Tyrol to leave. Tyrol escapes into an air vent again. Later, Kelly is ordered to escort Admiral Adama to his execution with some marines. However, Kelly splits off from the rest of the group. Knowing what is about to happen, he breaks down in the memorial hallway, where he encounters and his group. Aaron decides to defect and not only tells the team where Adama is to be executed, but assists them in rescuing him. Kelly takes part in Adama's recapturing of Galactica, thus ending the mutiny . 
==Notes==
*When questioned about the bomb on Raptor, Kelly tells he would not have detonated it with the major on board. It goes unsaid, however, he would have likely sacrificed Athena (or any other pilot) to kill Lampkin.
*Kelly is wearing junior pilot qualification wings. Together with his regular duty as Landing Signal Officer, this indicates that Kelly is not only flight qualified, but an experienced pilot. This reflects real world practices on aircraft carriers, where LSOs are trained aviators.
*Kelly's first name is revealed in the closing episode credits of "Final Cut."
*It is unknown why was chosen to become Galactica's XO after Colonel Tigh and his wife settled on New Caprica, as Captain Kelly was the nominal third-in-command. 
*It was unclear whether or not he returned to active duty following the mutiny, or if he volunteered for the rescue mission to save Hera Agathon. His fate following the Battle of The Colony remains unstated.
== References ==
Category:A to Z
Category:Characters
Category:Characters (RDM)
Category:Recurring Guest Characters (RDM)
Category:RDM
Category:Gaeta Mutineers
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