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Battle of Ragnar Anchorage

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Battle of Ragnar Anchorage
Galactica provides cover fire while the civilian Fleet escapes
Galactica provides cover fire while the civilian Fleet escapes
Galactica provides cover fire while the civilian Fleet escapes
Summary
Conflict: Second Cylon war
Date: Days 1-6
Related Episode(s):
Place: Ragnar Anchorage
Result: Successful escape from Cylon-occupied Colonial space
Combatants
Remnants of the Colonial Fleet Cylons
Commanders
Commander William Adama Basestar command
Strength
1 battlestar, 40 Vipers, Raptors 3 basestars, associated Raiders
Materiel Losses
At least 8 Vipers Unknown, minimal
Casualties
1,345 civilians Unknown, dozens of Raiders
[[Colonial battles chronology ({{{series}}})|Battle Chronology]]
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Battle of the Communications Relay Battle of Ragnar Anchorage Skirmish over the Red Moon


The Battle of Ragnar Anchorage represents the battlestar Galactica's successful penetration of a Cylon blockade that surrounds Ragnar Anchorage. Additionally, it documents the escape of Galactica and her fleet from 5 days of continuous attack by a Cylon armada (Miniseries, "33").

Upon receiving telemetry that many Colonial Fleet vessels, including flagship battlestar Atlantia, have been destroyed in a surprise attack by the Cylons, Commander William Adama assumes field command of the fleet and orders any surviving units to rendezvous with his ship at a remote munitions depot, Ragnar Anchorage, for a planned counterattack.

Orbiting within the tenuous upper atmosphere of the gas giant Ragnar, the ammunition station holds critical ordnance needed by Galactica, which had destroyed its own munitions earlier as part of its scheduled decommissioning[1]. The depot's location also offers effective cover against Cylon attack, as a particular form of electromagnetic radiation generated by the planet's upper atmosphere causes interference or damage to Cylon technology with sufficient exposure, and also jams any DRADIS detection, making assaults within the cloud threshold problematic at best.

Galactica is soon joined by a convoy of FTL-capable civilian ships rescued from the space-lanes around Caprica by the recently appointed President Laura Roslin. With no other military vessels arriving at the designated coordinates, it is deduced that Galactica is the last known capital ship able to mount a counterattack against the Cylons.

Despite the overwhelming odds, Commander Adama intends to proceed with a counter-offensive. However, after persuasion by President Roslin, he realizes that they re in a no-win situation; Galactica is hopelessly outnumbered, the Colonies are destroyed, and he is surrounded by nearly 50,000 of mankind's only known survivors.

During a reconnaissance mission, Lieutenant Thrace discovers two Cylon basestars and hundreds of accompanying fighters in Ragnar's orbit. Their presence further diminishes Galactica's odds in an offensive engagement, and Adama resolves to take the remnants of humanity away from the home solar system of the Twelve Colonies[2], towards the Prolmar Sector, never to return.

As FTL calculations will likely be distorted by the gas giant's ambient radiation, the Fleet will have to venture outside the protection of Ragnar's atmosphere to complete the necessary jump. Galactica leaves the Anchorage first and positions itself at the mouth of a storm on Ragnar's surface, acting as a shield for the remainder of the Fleet as they jump to the specified coordinates. With her batteries now fully armed, Galactica creates a defensive perimeter against the two basestars while her Vipers engage any Raiders attempting to attack the escaping fleet. A third basestar soon appears to pummel Galactica with successive missile strikes.

Once the last civilian ship is away and the last of the Vipers return to the flight pod, Galactica jumps as well. The Cylons enter the station shortly after the battle, and retrieve a suspected Cylon agent left there by the Colonials, a Number Five copy posing as a man named Aaron Doral.

Approximately one day after the struggle at Ragnar, the Colonials are surprised to find the Cylons still pursuing them, a feat which the vastness of space makes virtually impossible. They jump into range and attack every 33 minutes for 5 consecutive days and over 240 jumps. However, when the Olympic Carrier (a passenger liner listed to carry over 1000 civilians) fails to join the Fleet after a jump, the Cylons fail to appear as well.

When the Olympic Carrier reemerges a short time later, a suspicious Commander Adama commands the 33-minute countdown to resume immediately. Adama's fears about the vessel are confirmed when the Cylons appear 33 minutes after its return, indicating it was used to track the Fleet throughout this time.

Galactica then detects a radiological signature emanating from the Olympic Carrier, which suggests that it has been boarded by Cylons and now carries a nuclear warhead. Subsequently, Vipers are dispatched to intercept and destroy the approaching ship.

Ultimately Lee Adama makes the difficult decision to fire on the civilian craft, safe-guarding the remnants of mankind from a marauding enemy in the process. After the Fleet jumps once more, the Cylons are no longer able to immediately track their movements (33).

References

  1. The destruction of the battlestar's munitions occurs in a deleted scene of the Miniseries.
  2. In the Re-imagined Series, the home solar system of the Twelve Colonies is not named. In the Original Series, the name "Cyrannus" is used inconsistently to describe either the name of its solar system or galaxy where its Twelve Colonies resided.