Editing Alpha Leader's faction

{{Separate continuity|universe=TOS|cont=Richard Hatch Novelizations}}

'''Alpha Leader's faction''' was a revolutionary Cylon movement led by [[Alpha Leader (TOS-RH)|Alpha Leader]], a [[Cylon (TOS-RH)#Three-Brained Cylons|three-brained Cylon]] who commanded forces of genetically purified reptilian [[Cylon (TOS-RH)|Cylons]] during the Cylon civil war.

==Origins==

The faction emerged from a clandestine movement that began when a damaged genetic program destroyed the [[Count Iblis (TOS-RH)|Iblis]] programming in certain [[Cylons (TOS-RH)#Two-Brained Cylons|two-brained Cylons]].<ref name="DES88">{{cite book/RH|6|88}}</ref> This virus fundamentally altered their perspective on the Cylon race's purpose and identity.

The affected two-brained Cylons rejected the original vision of [[Count Iblis (TOS-RH)|Count Iblis]], who had created the Cylons millennia earlier by combining human DNA with the native reptilian species of the planet [[Cylon (planet) (TOS-RH)|Cylon]].<ref name="DES86">{{cite book/RH|6|86}}</ref> These revolutionaries concluded that the human element was a weakness that prevented the Cylons from achieving their true destiny as conquerors of the universe.<ref name="DES88" />
==Ideology==

A new religion emerged to challenge the orthodoxy of the Iblis Faith.<ref name="DES88" /> The core tenets of this belief system held that purely reptilian Cylons were superior to those containing human DNA, and that all human elements—both external and internal to the Cylon race—must be eradicated.<ref name="DES88" />

The movement advocated that two-brained Cylons with human DNA should be treated identically to pure humans and targeted for extermination.<ref name="DES89">{{cite book/RH|6|89}}</ref> Only after the complete removal of all human genetic material from the universe would the Cylons achieve their ultimate evolutionary destiny.<ref name="DES89" />

[[Centurion (TOS-RH)|Centurions]] were viewed as pseudo-machines and therefore presented no ideological problem to the movement, except when programmed to oppose the revolutionaries.<ref name="DES89" />
==Leadership==

The reptilian Cylons recognized that [[Imperious Leader (TOS-RH)|Imperious Leader]]—the [[Cylons (TOS-RH)#Three-Brained Cylons|three-brained Cylon]] who led the traditional Cylon Empire—represented their greatest obstacle.<ref name="DES89" /> His abilities could not be underestimated, and he was the only force that genuinely frightened the reptilian two-brained Cylons.<ref name="DES89" />

To combat Imperious Leader, the revolutionaries undertook the extraordinary task of creating their own three-brained leader.<ref name="DES89" /> This proved exceptionally difficult, as three-brained Cylons were the most closely guarded secret of the Cylon Empire, and the selection and transformation process was deliberately complex.<ref name="DES89" /> The revolutionaries were forced to steal heavy, unmovable equipment and operate in absolute secrecy to accomplish their goal.<ref name="DES89" />

When their efforts succeeded, it marked the first time in Cylon history that two three-brained Cylons existed simultaneously.<ref name="DES89" /> The reptilian Cylons named their leader Alpha Leader, while some derisively referred to Imperious Leader as "Omega Leader," signifying their intention that he be the last of his kind.<ref name="DES90">{{cite book/RH|6|90}}</ref>
==Military Operations==

===Weapons of War===

Alpha Leader's forces employed horrific biological weapons during their assault on the [[Cylon (planet) (TOS-RH)|Cylon homeworld]].<ref name="DES86" /> Pale-green pulsating sacs of unarticulated liquid flesh flopped through the streets, leaving yellowish ichor behind.<ref name="DES86" /> These creatures possessed metal arms that would brush aside [[Centurion (TOS-RH)|Centurions]] but capture two-brained Cylons to perform a gruesome operation: needles sank into victims' spinal columns, extracting fluids and removing all human DNA, leaving desiccated mummies in their wake.<ref name="DES86" />

The faction also deployed massive force fields as scoops to capture and neutralize enemy weapons fire during space combat.<ref name="DES86" />

===Paradis Campaign===

Following their victory in the Cylon civil war, Alpha Leader sent a sardonic message to the defeated Imperious Leader, granting him a temporary respite from destruction while the new Cylons focused on exterminating the [[The Fleet (TOS-RH)|Colonial fleet]] in the [[Paradis (TOS-RH)|Paradis]] system.<ref name="BSGOS37">{{cite book/RH|7|37}}</ref> 

Alpha Leader's forces assembled a gigantic expeditionary armada to attack the Colonials.<ref name="BSGOS37" /> However, despite their overwhelming numbers and advanced weapons, the campaign ended in defeat when [[Baltar (TOS-RH)|Baltar]] triggered a massive explosion that devastated the attacking force.<ref name="BSGOS37" />

===Tactical Doctrine===

The reptilian Cylons' strategy and tactics were driven primarily by hatred and characterized by headlong rushes at human targets, lacking the patience and calculated approach of Imperious Leader's forces.<ref name="BSGOS41">{{cite book/RH|7|41}}</ref> This emotional approach to warfare ultimately proved to be a weakness, as an enraged opponent lacked the strategic patience necessary for complex military operations.<ref name="BSGOS41" />
==Technology==

Alpha Leader's faction employed advanced biotech experiments that combined human and Cylon DNA, despite their ideological opposition to such mixing.<ref name="BSGOS41" /> They also developed a long-range weapon capable of destroying entire planets, which Imperious Leader revealed had been used to obliterate [[Paradis (TOS-RH)|Paradis]].<ref name="DES139">{{cite book/RH|6|139}}</ref>

The faction created hybrid Centurions that demonstrated greater behavioral range than traditional robotic Centurions, though they retained vulnerabilities to explosive decompression.<ref name="BSGOS61">{{cite book/RH|7|61}}</ref>
==Impact on Humanity==

According to Imperious Leader's warnings to [[Baltar (TOS-RH)|Baltar]], the methods of execution employed by Alpha Leader's faction were far more terrible than those used by traditional Cylons.<ref name="DES90" /> The reptilian Cylons' single-minded hatred and willingness to employ biological weapons made them an even greater threat to human survival than the original Cylon Empire.<ref name="DES90" />

The faction's defeat at [[Paradis (TOS-RH)|Paradis]] provided Imperious Leader with grim satisfaction, though he remained aware that Alpha Leader's forces still posed a significant threat both to his own depleted forces and to the [[The Fleet (TOS-RH)|Colonial fleet]].<ref name="BSGOS37" />
==References==
<references />

[[Category:Cylons (TOS alternate)]]
[[Category:Military units (TOS alternate)]]
[[Category:Richard Hatch novelizations]]