Battle at Galaxy's Edge

Battle at Galaxy's Edge
	Galactica exchanges fire with the basestar.
	Galactica exchanges fire with the basestar.
Summary
Conflict:	Escape from the Cylons
Date:
Related Episode(s):
Place:	Planetary system at the edge of the galaxy
Result:	Colonial victory
Combatants
The Colonial Fleet	Cylons
Commanders
Commander Adama	Command Centurion
Strength
Battlestar Galactica, two squadrons of Vipers	One basestar, ~300 Cylon Raiders
Materiel Losses
Unknown number of Vipers	Basestar and all Raiders
Casualties
Unknown	Heavy losses
Battle Chronology

The Battle at Galaxy's Edge is an engagement made by the Fleet to escape the galaxy without any further Cylon pursuit.

While scouting for the source of a Gamma frequency transmission, a patrol of Vipers stumble across a Cylon basestar. The patrol manages to escape without directly being detected, and reports to Galactica.

Rather than forcing the Fleet to make a lengthy detour, and tired of running, Commander Adama orders an attack on the basestar. Adama believes that Galactica needs the element of surprise in order to succeed, so Apollo proposes a plan to blind the basestar's long range scanners by sneaking aboard using Baltar's captured Cylon Raider. Adama makes a deal with Baltar in order to obtain more information about the basestar, in exchange for leaving Baltar behind on a habitable planet.

Apollo and Starbuck stumble into a returning patrol of Cylon Raiders as they approach the basestar, which helps conceal their landing on the basestar. The basestar detects Galactica's Viper squadrons while Starbuck and Apollo are still on board, and scramble all Raiders to engage. Boomer and Sheba lead the Viper squadrons as they face two to one odds, tying up the Raiders and drawing them away from the basestar. Apollo and Starbuck succeed in their objective, and the basestar's long range scanners are blinded, unable to detect the Viper squadrons.

Galactica completes its flanking maneuver. Thanks to the basestar's disabled scanners, Galactica get the first shots in the exchange, severely damaging the basestar. The capital ships exchange fire, but Galactica's early advantage proves decisive and the basestar is destroyed.

Galactica suffers severe damage during the battle, including the loss of Dr. Wilker's lab, but reports seem to indicate that the damage is under control. The remaining Cylon Raiders, lacking enough fuel to reach any assistance, make suicide runs towards Galactica, only to be destroyed by her defensive weapons. Apollo and Starbuck return to Galactica in Baltar's Raider, narrowly avoiding being destroyed after appearing to be another of the suicidal Cylon stragglers. With the basestar destroyed, Galactica is able to leave the galaxy without Cylon pursuit ^{(TOS: "The Hand of God")}.