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Template:Cylons Series In the events of the Miniseries, the Cylons quickly established the initiative and used overwhelming force in both symmetric and asymmetric methods of operation to effect the total devastation of the Twelve Colonies and to nearly succeed in annihilating of the human race. Since the initial attack, combat operations have persisted between the surviving battlestar Galactica and advanced battlestar Pegasus and their Cylon pursuers.
Symmetric Threat
The symmetric threat posed by the Cylons resides chiefly in the large, well-supplied, technologically sophisticated and well-coordinated space-based naval forces. These are comprised of space-superiority fighters, armored personnel carriers and light bombers, large capital warships, associated support vessels, and at least one very large unidentified vessel whose threat has yet to be determined (Pegasus (episode)). Throughout the engagements between battlestar Galactica and the Cylons, the Cylons have consistently demonstrated themselves to be capable warfighters across the full spectrum of military operations, including but not limited to the following:
- Infantry Combat: The fast, heavily armored, and well-armed Cylon Centurion has proven its lethality in multiple close engagements with armed Galactica personnel. Small numbers of Centurions can pose a significant threat to the entire crew (Valley of Darkness).
- Intelligence: The regular Cylon forces have proven to be quite capable at intelligence collection not only by forced reconnaissance - often by Cylon Raiders - but also through exploitation of Humano-Cylon sleeper agents (Mini-Series, "33"). This implies very developed command and control, and an unprecedented coordination between the conventional and unconventional forces of the Cylons.
- Precision Strike: The Cylons have demonstrated the capability to insert a strike team onto an battlestar, while it was still combat-worthy and indeed while it was engaged in combat (Valley of Darkness). Such was the degree of preparedness and competence of the strike team that, had it not been for the foresight of the commanding officer Tigh, the Cylons would have gained access to Aft Damage Control, probably captured Galactica and destroyed the rest of the fleet.
- Electronic Countermeasures (ECM): The uncanny ability of Cylons to compromise the security of networked computer systems has been well-documented. Aside from the success of the initial Cylon attack which may be partly attributable to asymmetric infiltration of key defense systems by Humano-Cylon sleepers (see Command Navigation Program, Colonial Defense Mainframe, Gaius Baltar), the Cylons have proven remarkably adept at compromising ad hoc computer networks (Scattered). This ECM capability is so superb that even when the security firewalls of Galactica were still operational, the Cylons were able to implant a highly adaptible and sophisticated logic bomb which was ultimately could be removed only by a Cylon defector (Flight of the Phoenix). Advanced ECM is perhaps the most awesome combat support implement of the Cylons, since they preclude the development of sophisticated electronics by Galactica.
Asymmetric Threat
Humano-Cylons, more even than the large space-based conventional force, pose the most fundamental threat to the security of the Fleet and to the remaining survivors of the Twelve Colonies. Because (as of the time of this writing) at most five models of Humano-Cylon have been revealed as such by the characters of the series, and these Cylons are visually indistinguishable from true humans, they form an asymmetric threat to the densely packed and defenseless civilian elements of the Fleet. The Cylons have expressed a remarkable expertise and even flair for a broad range of irregular combat and combat support operations, such as planting many sleeper agents in sensitive positions (such as Sharon Valerii), targeting sensitive supplies (Water), laying ambushes (Home, Part I), assassination (Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II), and possibly high-level subterfuge and manipulation (Gaius Baltar). Most importantly, because many or most Humano-Cylon sleeper agents may be consciously unaware of their true nature and detection is unreliable, the risk of continued infiltration is substantial.
Battlestar Galactica has enough resources to stymie even a determined conventional Cylon attack long enough for the Fleet to flee to safety, and ultimately to disengage and retreat. However, the low morale among the crew, the generation of a culture of fear and suspicion among the entire Fleet, and the wasteful political diversions engendered by distrust are all evidence of the success of the asymmetric Cylon threat, which exerts its destructive influence even when no attack takes place. The power of the asymmetric attack, as so many guerrilla leaders have shown, lies in the psychological fatigue, stress, and suspicion caused by the unseen enemy and the unexpected betrayal of a turncoat. It is unfortunate that Battlestar Galactica, in this regard, is a case of art imitating life.