- This article is about the basestar as seen in the Re-imagined Series. For the Original Series version, see Basestar (TOS).
| Basestar | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Race: | Cylon | ||
| Type: | Military | ||
| FTL: | Yes | ||
| Propulsion: | |||
| Crew: | Unknown | ||
| Capacity: | |||
| CO: | {{{co}}} | ||
| XO: | {{{xo}}} | ||
| Role: | Carrier / missile platform hybrid | ||
| Weapons: | Nuclear and conventional missiles, Raiders, Heavy Raiders | ||
| Armaments: | {{{arm}}} | ||
| Defenses: | {{{def}}} | ||
| Aircraft: | {{{aircraft}}} | ||
| Aviation facilities: | {{{facilities}}} | ||
| Fate: | {{{status}}} | ||
| Emblem: | [[Image:{{{patch}}}|175px|Ship's patch]] | ||
| Other Images: | Gallery | ||
| Length: | {{{length}}} | ||
| Width: | {{{width}}} | ||
| Height: | {{{height}}} | ||
| Weight: | {{{weight}}} | ||
| Wingspan: | {{{wingspan}}} | ||
| Other: | {{{otherdi}}} | ||
| Cost: | {{{construction}}} | ||
| Construction Time: | {{{construction}}} | ||
| Hull Size: | {{{hull size}}} | ||
| Hull: | {{{hull}}} | ||
| FTL Cooldown: | {{{ftl cooldown}}} turns | ||
| Speed: | {{{speed}}} m/s | ||
| Turn Rate: | {{{turn rate}}}°/turn | ||
| Armor Total: | {{{armor total}}} | ||
| Armor Left: | {{{armor left}}} | ||
| Armor Right: | {{{armor right}}} | ||
| Armor Front: | {{{armor front}}} | ||
| Armor Rear: | {{{armor rear}}} | ||
| Armor Top: | {{{armor top}}} | ||
| Armor Bottom: | {{{armor bottom}}} | ||
| DRADIS Range: | {{{dradis range}}} m | ||
| Processing Power: | {{{processing power}}} | ||
| Munition Slots: | {{{munitions}}} | ||
| Munition Cooldown Period: | {{{munition cooldown}}} turns | ||
| Squadron Slots: | {{{squadrons}}} | ||
| Squadron Size: | {{{squadron size}}} | ||
| Special Abilities: | {{{special abilities}}} | ||
| Additional Information | |||
Description[edit]
Cylon basestars (also referred to as "baseships" or "Cylon battlestars") are by far the most prominent example of Cylon presence throughout the galaxy.
They easily dwarf a Colonial battlestar and appear to be technologically superior in every way. Basestars appear no visible means of sublight propulsion, but are equipped with an Jump system that is far superior to that of Colonial battlestars.
Basestars are capable of releasing hundreds of Raiders simultaneously (see Related Imagery)
Beyond this, not much is known about the interior operations or command structure of a basestar. A basestar's size suggests that it has a large crew complement, although there is ample evidence to suggest their operations are largely automated, or that the basestar itself is a Cylon entity similar to the autononous personality of a Raider or even a Cylon agent. There is no evidence thus far to suggest that a basestar has a central autonomous commander or command hierachy as found on battlestars.
A basestar is capable of launching conventional or nuclear missiles. Basestar-launched nuclear strikes against Colonial ships are done only when Raiders aren't deployed as nuclear blasts are widespread in range and do not differentiate in damage to friend or foe. In one example of such an attack scenario, three Cylon basestars lure and ambush battlestar Pegasus and pummel it with several nuclear missiles before deploying Raiders and changing to non-nuclear missiles in their attack (The Captain's Hand). It is probable that basestars used nuclear weapons to destroy the bulk of the Colonial Fleet (using their backdoor in the CNP to compromise their defenses first) in the opening wave of their destruction of the Colonies.
After the Colonial commanders draw away their Raider wings, two basestars are torn apart by the kinetic guns of battlestars Pegasus and Galactica in a joint mission to destroy a Cylon Resurrection Ship. It would seem that that basestars rely heavily on their Raiders for close-range gun defense through sheer numbers of fighters. Since a basestar does not appear to have batteries (the primary offensive/defensive weapons on battlestars), basestars appear quite vulnerable to battlestars in close-range combat without Raider fighter support (Resurrection Ship, Part II).
Encounters with the Colonial Fleet[edit]
- As part of an annual offering of diplomacy, the Colonial Fleet staffs the Armistice Station in the hopes that the Cylons will attend, but it goes unfulfilled for forty years. Suddenly, without any warning or detection, a Cylon basestar arrives over the station, and dispatches a Cylon agent to the station. This agent accosts the Armistice Officer as the basestar launches a salvo of missiles and obliterates the station.
- Days later, the Cylons begin their genocidal campaign against the Twelve Colonies. In all likelihood, several basestars and their support craft arrived at each Colonial world and deploy nuclear missiles, airbursting them to annihilate the populace. Several basestars orbit the ruined planet of Caprica as Lt. Sharon "Boomer" Valerii guides her Raptor to an emergency landing on the planet during the attack. Boomer's Raptor guides by debris of destroyed Colonial units, including the shattered hulk of a battlestar (Miniseries).
- A substantial Cylon force consisting of no less than two basestars and several hundred fighters and other small craft converge on Ragnar Anchorage in an attempt to flush out and destroy the fugitive ships led by the battlestar Galactica. After transferring as many armaments and supplies as possible from the munitions depot, Galactica departs the station's surrounding EM storm and presents itself as a shield, allowing the Fleet to slip out and make Jumps away. The entire contingent of civilian ships escape, as does Galactica after she and her Vipers endure a thorough pounding (Miniseries).
- Basestars pursue Galactica and the Colonial Fleet for five full days after the escape from Ragnar. Galactica spurs the Fleet to stay on the move, executing FTL Jump after Jump, only to see the Cylons reappear at each location 33 minutes later (33). The Cylons had apparently infiltrated the Olympic Carrier, a civilian starliner, and are able to track it through each successive Jump. Following the 239th Jump, the Olympic Carrier doesn't immediately rendevous at the jump coordinates, and it is feared the ship is lost. She reappears later, but several indications hint that she has been overtaken by Cylon forces, and the Colonials have no recourse but to destroy the liner. As soon as Galactica's Vipers destroy the liner, the basestars arrive on the scene, and the Colonial Fleet executes their 240th Jump. The Cylons do not immediately follow, ending the pursuit.
- The Fleet eludes further contact with the Cylon forces for several weeks. The planet Kobol is discovered by a single Raptor on a probing reconnaissance mission, and a follow-up mission is planned. The reconnaissance team of three Raptors is surprised by a basestar now in orbit over Kobol, and screening Cylon Raiders obliterate one Raptor while shooting down another and forcing it to crash land on the planet below. The remaining Raptor escapes back to battlestar Galactica, relaying the shocking news. Commander Adama devises a plan to eliminate the basestar, using a Raptor fitted with a Cylon Transponder to deploy a nuclear warhead inside. Lt. Sharon "Boomer" Valerii is later tasked to the mission, accompanied by new ECO Lt. Margaret "Racetrack" Edmonson. En route, the transponder works exactly as planned. Despite their anxiety, the Raptor infiltrates the basestar. The interior view of the basestar that Boomer and Racktrack are afforded is overwhelming – a vast, cavernous void of bio-mechanical components lacking a distinctive floor or ceiling. Surfaces appear organic – fleshy if they were to be touched – resembling the interiors of a Raider. During the deployment of the nuclear warhead, Boomer exits the Raptor and removes her helmet, indicating that the interior space is indeed pressurized and oxygenated, more than likely controlled by ventricle-like airlocks evident during the Raptor's entrance. The pair extricate themselves from inside the basestar, and once outside, detonate the warhead. The annihilation of this basestar represents the first aired instance in the series that Colonial forces successfully destroy a basestar (Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II).
- Scant moments after this victory, another basestar ambushes Galactica, causing the crew to perform yet another immediate FTL Jump. This haphazard Jump (due to mishandled coordinate updates) separates the battlestar from the rest of the Fleet, and a few hours are spent developing a course of action. The decision is made to jump back to Kobol to recalculate the Jump coordinates, and upon doing so, the battlestar and the basestar square off in a vicious engagement. During the recalculation, a Cylon Heavy Raider manages to crash-land on Galactica's starboard flight pod (Scattered). After the battlestar Jumps away, the basestar too departs the area after sending a detachment of Centurions to Kobol.
- Upon the reunion of the Colonial Fleet with the assumed-lost battlestar Pegasus, Admiral Helena Cain reveals that a Cylon fleet, consisting of two basestars and a mysterious unknown ship, has been following Galactica (Pegasus). By way of a bold reconnaissance mission in the Colonial Blackbird, the commanding officers discover the identity of the mysterious vessel to be the Cylon Resurrection Ship (Resurrection Ship, Part I). The Colonials concoct an aggressive, intricate plan using stealth, deception, and sheer brute force to eradicate the Resurrection Ship, as well as its escorting basestars. In a brilliant display of firepower, the two battlestars make short work of the two basestars, suffering minimal damage in return (Resurrection Ship, Part II).
- Over a month later, and now devoid of their Resurrection Ship, the Cylons deploy basestars in a new tactical fashion. Two Raptors from Pegasus are lured away from their reconnaissance training mission near a binary star cluster, the crews killed by carefully venting their crew compartments, and the Raptors set adrift. In his zeal to retrieve the Raptors, newly-promoted Commander Barry Garner disregards both Admiral Adama's orders and Major Lee Adama's advice and takes Pegasus to the last known location of the missing craft. Pegasus deploys two more Raptors to scan the located Raptors. As the rescue Raptors discover the lost Raptors' fate, three basestars pounce upon the Colonials and immediately engage by launching salvos of nuclear missiles — the first time they've done so since the destruction of the Colonies. Pegasus reels under heavy damage, and only through the heroic self-sacrifice of Commander Garner, the sound direction of Major Adama, and the unwavering support of Pegasus's Vipers (led by Captain "Starbuck" Thrace) the battlestar survives. As a means of buying time until the disabled FTL drive was repaired, Major Adama directs the battlestar's forward gun batteries to barrage the closest basestar, focusing on the core of it until it is forced to withdraw. Pegasus indeed survives this encounter, albeit with a substantial amount of damage, but it heralds a less brashly aggressive, more subversively calculative approach by the Cylons (The Captain's Hand).
- The most recent appearance of basestars comes at the fall of New Caprica to Cylon occupation. Several basestars emerge from the planet's shrouding nebula, and in the face of overwhelming strength and numbers, an understaffed Colonial Fleet makes a reluctant Jump away, and the Cylons take the planet without firing a shot.
Continuity Note[edit]
In the Miniseries, Galactica's new museum displays a model of the Cylon basestar used in the Cylon War. As it happens, this design is identical to the basestars seen in the Original Series. However, despite the identical use of the ship design, the universe of the Re-imagined Series does not use the same weapons as that of the Original Series, so viewers are left to ponder what armed the Re-imagined incarnations of the Original Series Cylon warships. The museum also displays a deactivated Cylon Centurion Model 0005--again, the same design of Cylon warrior as used in the Original Series, and indicated in the episodes as the Cylons seen in the Cylon War of the Re-imagined Series continuity.
