Battle for the Tylium Asteroid

Battle for the Tylium Asteroid
	Apollo flying away from the Cylon tylium mine as it begins to explode
	Apollo flying away from the Cylon tylium mine as it begins to explode
Summary
Conflict:	Second Cylon war
Date:	Day 36
Related Episode(s):
Place:	Asteroid field in interstellar space, specific location unknown
Result:	Colonial victory. Resupply of Tylium ore for fuel reserves.
Combatants
Remnants of the Colonial Fleet	Cylons
Commanders
Commander William Adama	Unknown †
Strength
battlestar Galactica; 2 Raptors, pilots Boomer, Stubbs; Strike Force One: At least 7 Vipers, incl. Fireball, Deadbolt, Spinner, Buzzer, Hot Dog; Strike Force Two: Viper 2220, Viper 7961, 10 other Viper Mk IIs	140 Raiders; Fixed anti-aircraft emplacements
Materiel Losses
4 Vipers, incl. Viper 7961 and those piloted by Fireball and Stepchild	Complete destruction of Cylon forces
Casualties
Fireball, Stepchild and 4 other pilots	Unknown, high
[[Colonial battles chronology ({{{series}}})\|Battle Chronology]]

The Battle of the Tylium Asteroid occurs as Galactica liberates a tylium ore refinery from the Cylons, marking the first time that Galactica makes an offensive strike against Cylon forces (The Hand of God).

After exhausting much of its fuel reserves fleeing from Cylon forces (33) and after a difficult rescue of Kara Thrace (You Can't Go Home Again), Galactica sends Raptors to outlying star systems in search of the mineral tylium; a fuel source used by all ships in the Fleet.

They locate an asteroid rich in tylium, but also occupied by Cylons and fortified with Raider squadrons. Commander Adama decides to take the asteroid with a daring plan, utilizing the unconventional thinking of Kara Thrace to lead the attack plan and Captain Lee "Apollo" Adama to lead the Viper crews.

Galactica pulls a double-feint; they use a cargo freighter to lure away patrolling Raiders, whereupon they deploy a Viper squadron to approach the asteroid from the opposite direction. The Cylons deduce the freighter to be a diversion and turn their fighters on the approaching Viper squadron. Additionally, they release all of their base's reserve Raiders to make a run at the Galactica.

With all Cylon craft engaging either the Vipers or Galactica, a second squad of Vipers emerges from inside the cargo freighter and to heads for the unguarded Cylon base. The freighter was never the decoy; rather it was Galactica and her Vipers!

As the squadron reaches the surface and approaches the refinery, they encounter heavy anti-aircraft fire that destroys three Vipers. Furthermore, a powerful jamming signal prevents the squad from using guided missiles against the refinery, and Captain Adama determines that any attacks they attempt will have to be completed manually. For that to be possible they must be able to approach the base at a close range, something which the anti-aircraft artillery makes unattainable.

Captain Adama commands the other fighters to pull back as searches for an alternative way of approaching the refinery. He finds his answer in a conveyor duct that runs from an un-defended canyon adjacent to the base, and ends bellow a tank housing highly unstable tylium-precursor. After successfully manoeuvring the duct, Captain Adama detonates a pair of explosive charges underneath the precursor tank, barely escaping the ensuing explosion.

The destruction of the tylium-precursor ignites the refinery's tylium stores and destroys the entire Cylon base in an explosion equivalent to a three kiloton nuclear warhead. The base's destruction heavily disorients the overflying Cylon Raiders, and leaves them unable to re-arm or refuel. Galactica and her Vipers destroy the remaining Raiders before they are able to alert reinforcements.

Subsequently, ships from the civilian fleet mine a large amount of tylium from the asteroid (gathered by the mobile Mining Ship and processed on a Refinery Ship). The mining yields enough tylium fuel reserve to last the Fleet for several years.

The battle was prophesied in the Sacred Scrolls, which mention a victory "led by serpents numbering two and ten" (the twelve Vipers). The scrolls warn, however, that "though the outcome favored the few, it led to a confrontation at the home of the gods."

Notes

As the entire first season of Battlestar Galactica takes place in less than two months, and subsequent space travel between this episode an the colonization of New Caprica lasts less than 8 months, this means that that Fleet might not run into another fuel shortage for the rest of the series' run, barring some form of accident or an acceleration of the passed time.