Alternative methods to control pitch in heavier-than-air craft?

Howdy, Flutherites! I hope someone on here is knowledgeable about aircraft. :) I am interested in understanding basic flight controls in heavier-than-air craft. The details of my question are kinda long, but necessary.

I understand there are three axes of movement—pitch, yaw and roll—and their coordinating controls which allow aircraft flight. And also power.

Roll on an airplane is controlled by its ailerons and the yaw by the rudder. Right? And pitch is normally controlled by elevators. I guess there are also flaps on jets, which can increase lift, and they’re different from ailerons in that they move together, not in opposite directions.

I hope I got that right, heh.

Beyond this, my question is whether there are other ways of performing pitch maneuvers besides using elevators? For example, in Battlestar Galactica there’s the Colonial Viper. What’s neat about it (besides that it can obviously operate in outer space and make FTL jumps) is that it can take off vertically from an idle position. I guess it would use vertical thrusters to do this?

In the case of the Viper, is it just using a combination of vertical and longitudinal thrusters to achieve pitch? Or what is it doing, exactly? (Or its pilot, rather.) And does it even have elevators? I guess I’m just wondering what the basic controls on something like that would be in comparison to, say, a biplane or a jet. :/