Cylon Basestar (reimagining)
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| Cylon Basestar | |
|---|---|
| First appearance | Mini Series, Part 1 |
| Affiliation | Cylons |
| General Characteristics | |
| Fighters | Cylon Raiders Cylon Heavy Raiders |
| Armaments | Nuclear missiles Conventional missiles |
A Basestar, or Baseship is a space battleship in the re-imagined science fiction television series Battlestar Galactica. It serves as a capital ship within the Cylon fleet. The appearance of a Basestar is different from the original Basestars of the 1978 television series.
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[edit] General description
Basestars are designed to make FTL jumps, they are equipped to deploy large-scale strikes with nuclear and conventional ordnance. Basestars are biomechanical entities, with fleshy "hangars" to house Raiders. Basestars are, however, capable of carrying other Cylon models, as crew, within them.[1]
A tactical nuclear weapon was deployed aboard a base star in orbit over Kobol, and the base star was destroyed in the resulting explosion. In the season two episode "Resurrection Ship, Part II", with both sides' fighter groups engaged elsewhere, the Battlestars Galactica and Pegasus successfully engage and destroy one Basestar in ship-to-ship combat. The second Basestar is not seen to explode onscreen, however it takes massive damage. Robbed of their Raider fleet (which is superior in numbers to a Battlestar's Viper complement), they appear to be no match for the Battlestars. The Battlestars used the tactic of circling one Basestar while firing upon it until destroyed.[2] A similar tactic is used in the battle of New Caprica in which the Galactica uses diversions to occupy the Cylon Raiders elsewhere, and fights four Basestars simultaneously. With the arrival of the Pegasus, two Basestars are lost - one by crashing Pegasus into it, a second due to collateral damage from the resulting explosion and debris. A third Basestar is heavily damaged by direct fire from the Pegasus' forward main batteries.[3] Another basestar was seen to explode after its crew died from a virus contacted from a recovered artifact that is presumed to have been left behind by the 13th tribe.
The role and peformance of the basestars indicate that they are not nearly as well armored or armed as battlestars. Although they possess formidable missile-based offensive weaponry, their defensive capabilities appear limited entirely to their Raiders. Basestars appear to have no kinetic-energy weapons equivalent to those found on Colonial warships. Deprived of their Raiders, basestars are extremely vulnerable to Colonial warships. In contrast, while the Galactica is heavily dependent on its Vipers for defense, it is heavily armored against nuclear and conventional weapons and has several batteries capable of maintaining a much higher volume of fire than a basestar can achieve. Additionally, a basestar appears to be much less maneuverable than a battlestar. It is possible to surmise that the design of a basestar is intended to exchange armor, firepower, and maneuverability for additional space in which to store Raiders. Battlestars, conversely, trade size for increased maneuverability, firepower, and armor. It is also possible that basestars are purposefully not constructed to be extremely durable, as Cylon resurrection techniques make the preservation of individual vessels less important than the mortal Colonials.
Later episodes establish a basestar's ability to "heal" itself of battle damage. In "Guess What's Coming To Dinner" a severely damaged basestar regenerates its damaged and truncated "spokes" over the course of the episode. It appears nearly fully repaired by the end of the episode. It is not known how the basestar performs this feat without access to raw building and repair materials. It is not known if basestars can regenerate their Raider complements.
[edit] The Hybrid
The Basestar's internal functions are controlled by a part-biological, part-machine central computer system known as the Hybrid. The biological part of the Hybrid is a female humanoid Cylon-like being, housed inside an immersion tank similar to a Cylon re-birthing tank and attached to the mechanical part of the Basestar computers by umbilicals.[4] The Hybrids do not have a completely human body, but rather appear to be more like cyborgs, consisting of conduits and other connectors mated to, or in place of elements of their bodies. The Hybrid is not one of the "twelve models" of humanoid Cylon, but is a separate model that is essentially another stage in "evolution" from fully mechanical Centurion, to partially biomechanical Raider, to humanoid Cylon. Hybrids are similar to the autonomous biomechanical pilots within Raiders, specially constructed as living computers that manage the autonomic functions of the Basestar, including navigation and FTL jumps, climate control, and the like. The Hybrids are so integrated into the Basestar's functionality that they are, for all practical purposes, the Basestar.
The Hybrid is revealed to be capable of having its own opinions and thoughts, but does not have a say in decisions made by the humanoid Cylon models. The humanoid Cylon models control the Basestar via "control panels" in the Basestar's Control Room that are made up of a red flowing substance that seems to take the commands to the Hybrid itself.[4]
The Hybrid speaks strange, seemingly random phrases, which most Cylons interpret as the nonsensical babbling of a deranged mind. However, the Leoben Conoy model of Cylons believe that every word the Hybrid speaks means something, and that the Cylon god speaks through the Hybrids. The Caprica Model Six Cylon, however, has given an alternate explanation: the Hybrids do not perceive their existence in the same way as normal beings. They possess an expanded awareness of being one entity existing in space as well as perceiving all activity in their basestar's interior.[4] The Hybrid may also express the state of the ship physically, as demonstrated when one has a physical reaction during an FTL jump, similar to an orgasm.[4]
Two protons expelled at each coupling site creates the mode of force the embryo becomes a fish that we don't enter until A-plate we're here to experience evolve the little toe atrophy don't ask me how I'll be dead in a thousand light years thank you thank you Genesis turns to its source reduction occurs stepwise though the essence is all one end of line. FTL system check diagnostic functions within parameters repeats the harlequin the agony exquisite the colors run the path of ashes fifty-two percent of heat exchanger cross-collateralized with hyper-dimensional matrix upper senses repair ordered relay to zero, zero, zero, zero. — Hybrid (Torn)
The Hybrid is played by Tiffany Lyndall-Knight.
[edit] The Old Hybrid
An old Hybrid appeared in Battlestar Galactica: Razor, played by Campbell Lane. William Adama witnessed him being "created" in biological experiments before the destruction of the Twelve Colonies. The Old Hybrid was protected by a sect of old Cylon Centurions called the "Guardians". He claimed to have the gift of prophecy and is far more lucid than newer models.
There are references in the Cylon databases to this prototype, considered a failed experiment and unaccounted for.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Basestar at the BattlestarWiki, a Battlestar Galactica wiki.
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| Colonial Military | |
| Battlestar (Original • Reimagined) | Military Vessels |
| Galactica • Pegasus • Valkyrie | Viper • Raptor • Blackbird • Stealthstar |
| "The Fleet" | |
| Astral Queen • Colonial One • Cloud 9 • other... | |
| Cylon Vessels | |
| Basestar • Raider • Heavy Raider • Resurrection Ship | |
