Editing Battle of the Communications Relay

{{Battle Data
|image=Cylon Comm relay.jpg
|description=Battle of the Communications Relay 
|conflict=[[Cylon Attack|Second Cylon War]]
|date=Circa [[Timeline (RDM)|Day 7]]
|place=Unspecified Cylon staging area
|result=Pyrrhic Colonial victory
|combatant1=Battlestar ''{{RDM|Pegasus}}''
|combatant2=[[Cylons (RDM)|Cylons]]
|co1=Admiral [[Helena Cain]]
|co2=Unknown
|strength1=''{{RDM|Pegasus}}'', approx 180 {{RDM|Viper}}s 
|strength2=At least 15 squadrons of [[Cylon Raider (RDM)|Raiders]] and [[Heavy Raider]]s<br/>[[Cylon Centurion|Centurions]]
|shiploss1= 32 Vipers destroyed, 61 damaged, approx half of Air wing destroyed/unrepairable 
|shiploss2=Relay station destroyed. Boarding party defeated. Likely severe ship losses.
|casualties1=816 crewmen dead, 121 injured<ref>Kendra Shaw reports "at least 816 dead, 121 injured". Earlier, Colonel Belzen reports the loss of over 700 people in the attack on the shipyards. Given ''Pegasus's'' crew complement of approximately 1,750 when she encounters ''Galactica'', adding both numbers equals 1,516 meaning that almost all of the crew died. This article assumes that Shaw is relating the casualties of ''both'' battles.</ref>, [[Jurgen Belzen]]
|casualties2=One [[Number Six]] and Centurion boarding party.<br/>[[Gina Inviere]] discovered to be a [[humanoid Cylon]] and taken into custody.
|prev=[[Battle of Ragnar Anchorage]]
|next=[[Skirmish over the Red Moon]]
|series=RDM
}}

The '''Battle of the Communications Relay''' is an attack launched by the [[Mercury class battlestar|battlestar]] ''{{RDM|Pegasus}}'' on a [[Cylon (RDM)|Cylon]] [[communications relay]] one week after the [[Fall of the Twelve Colonies]]. Intelligence reports incorrectly conclude that only half a dozen [[Cylon Raider (RDM)|Raiders]] are in proximity to the station, and thus the relay is considered to be an easy target.

When ''Pegasus'' jumps into the area, twelve enemy contacts are picked up on [[DRADIS]], and Admiral [[Helena Cain|Cain]] orders the launch of [[Blue Squadron (RDM)|Blue Squadron]]. As the Vipers are deployed, 15 Raider squadrons jump into firing range and the crew realizes, to their horror, that the installation is not a communications relay at all, but a staging ground for Cylon forces. 

Recognizing that they are outnumbered four to one, Colonels [[Jack Fisk|Fisk]] and [[Jurgen Belzen|Belzen]] recommend the immediate recovery of Blue Squadron, and a swift retreat from the area. However, in a surprise move, Cain orders the remaining Vipers launched to provide cover-fire for Blue Squadron as they make a run at the relay. When Belzen officially refuses to carry out this order, Cain asks him to hand over his sidearm, whereupon she shoots him in the head with it. A shocked Fisk, fearing the same fate should he refuse the admiral's orders, immediately deploys all reserve Vipers.

As the Vipers commence their attack, Cylon operative [[Gina Inviere]] covertly takes the ''Pegasus'' weapons grid off-line, permitting two Cylon [[Heavy Raider]]s to access the port landing alcove with a [[Cylon Centurion|Centurion]] boarding party. In an attempt to hold off the enemy boarding party, Cain orders the surrounding sections of ''Pegasus'' to be vented of atmosphere, hoping that the resulting vacuum will subdue the Cylons. The tactic is unsuccessful, and the Centurions make their way into the ship.

While investigating the sudden collapse of the battlestar's weapons grid, Lieutenant [[Kendra Shaw|Shaw]] spots a [[Number Six]] among the advancing Cylon boarding party, and deduces that Inviere must be an enemy agent. She pulls a rifle from the grasp of a dead marine and fires at the surprised Six. After shooting the Cylon, Shaw returns to [[CIC]], and reveals Inviere's true nature by displaying a security feed of the killed Six. When Marines try to apprehend Inviere on Cain's orders, she breaks the neck of one and uses his sidearm to shoot another. When Inviere hesitates as she aims at Cain, Shaw knocks the Cylon unconscious with the end of her rifle <ref>In "Pegasus," Lt. [[Alastair Thorne|Thorne]] states that Inviere killed seven people. Since only two kills are shown in "Razor," he either refers to actions before or after her arrest as well.</ref>.

Additional details of the battle are unknown, but the communications station is presumably destroyed while ''Pegasus'' escapes with severe losses - 32 Vipers are destroyed, while 61 are badly damaged with not enough resources to repair them all ([[TRS]]: "[[Pegasus (episode)|Pegasus]]"; "[[Razor]]").

== Notes ==
*Gina Inviere is mentioned as having been vital in discovering the communications relay. Since it later appears to be a trap by the Cylons, it is probable that she intentionally lured the battlestar to the relay.

== References ==
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[[Category:Colonial]]
[[Category:Colonial Battles]]
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