Battle of the Ionian Nebula

Battle of the Ionian Nebula
Cylons forces ambush the mysteriously crippled Colonial Fleet
Cylons forces ambush the mysteriously crippled Colonial Fleet
Summary
Conflict:	Second Cylon War
Date:	Shortly after Gaius Baltar's trial
Related Episode(s):
Place:	The Ionian nebula
Result:	Cylon withdrawal
Combatants Remnants of the Colonial Fleet Cylons Commanders Admiral William Adama basestar command Strength Galactica, associated Vipers and Raptors Four basestars, approx. 200 Raiders and Heavy Raiders Materiel Losses Pyxis destroyed, Space Park severely damaged, Astral Queen slightly damaged Numerous Raiders Casualties 600 civilians on Pyxis. 1,100 deaths on other ships. None
Battle Chronology
Previous Next Battle of the Algae Planet Battle of the Ionian Nebula None

Upon jumping into the Ionian system, the entire Fleet suddenly loses power and becomes dead in space. As the ships drift aimlessly, four Cylon basestars jump into the nebula and begin launching Raiders. By the time power is restored to Galactica and the civilian ships, the Raiders are already inbound and the Fleet is incapable of jumping to safety before they close to firing distance.

Events leading up to the battle

During the power outage Saul Tigh, Galen Tyrol, Samuel Anders and Tory Foster begin to aimlessly wander the halls of Galactica muttering the lyrics to a mysterious song, having heard it in their heads for the past few days. When all four arrive in the same room and see each other they realize that they are actually Cylons themselves. When the alert is sounded, they resolve to continue serving in the roles they did when they believed they were human. Tyrol returns to the flight deck, Anders heads for his Viper and Tigh and Foster head for the CIC and return to the sides of Admiral Adama and President Roslin.

During the scramble to get the alert Vipers launched, Lee Adama, now just a civilian after resigning from the military during Baltar's trial, returns to his quarters and breaks out his helmet and flight suit and joins the fight. While en route to intercept the incoming wave of Raiders he picks up an unknown contact on his Viper's DRADIS and breaks formation to intercept it. Adama and the unknown contact chase each other through the nebula until it pulls alongside him and reveals itself. The unknown is actually Kara Thrace, back from the dead and flying an apparently brand new Viper Mk. II. Thrace claims she has been to Earth and that she is here to lead the Fleet there (Crossroads, Part II).

Civilians under attack

Galactica's Vipers and Raptors are able to stop the main force of the over 200 Raiders, but the Cylons' reserves manage to break through the Colonial lines. Outgunned, and with many civilian ships needing time to spin up their FTL drives, Admiral Adama orders to sortie all available pilots, including inexperienced nuggets like Samuel Anders and Diana Seelix.

The battle spills over into the Colonial lines, with Vipers and Raiders dogfighting amongst the ships of the Fleet whilst Galactica puts up a flak field and fires her primary armament at the Raiders and basestars. One Viper wings a Raider, which spins out of control and collides with the Pyxis, completely destroying the vessel and killing the 600 people aboard. When the Cylons launch over 50 missiles, half of them targeting the civilian ships, Adama has the Vipers and point defense batteries prioritize their fire to protect the civilians, noting that Galactica can better withstand the hits. Despite their efforts, the Space Park is hit by two missiles, severely damaging its ring section and causing many causalities. The Astral Queen is hit by another missile, resulting in a hull breach in the forward section, while Seelix successfully intercepts a missile heading for Colonial One. Galactica too takes fire, but seemingly without major damage.

When Anders pursues a Raider that is targeting Seelix, it suddenly flips around, scans him with its red "eye" and breaks off. Following that, all other Raiders return to their basestars and the Cylons retreat, to amazement of the Colonials. Following this, Adama orders the fleet to retreat whilst they have the chance, despite the suspicious circumstances (He That Believeth In Me).

Results

While it is unknown if the battle will have significant longterm effects, the Cylons now know that there is at least one of the final five Cylons in the human fleet.

A shot of the fleet in space after the battle shows that Galactica has lost one of her dorsal batteries. It is unclear if this occurred earlier during the severe damage taken in the Battle of New Caprica, or in this particular battle-as this episode is the first since Exodus, Part II to clearly show her primnary armament in operation.