Battle of the Resurrection Ship

The Battle of the Resurrection Ship was an engagement between Colonial and Cylon forces that ended in the destruction of a resurrection ship. Fought by the battlestars Galactica and Pegasus against the Cylon fleet pursuing the survivors of the Fall of the Twelve Colonies, the battle turned on a single objective: destroying the ship that allowed the hunters to download their dead. With that capability gone, any Cylon killed near the fleet would die for good. (Battlestar Galactica, "Resurrection Ship, Part I"; Battlestar Galactica, "Resurrection Ship, Part II")

Background#

Galactica and a civilian fleet abandoned the Twelve Colonies following the Fall and were pursued by the Cylons. When the surviving battlestar Pegasus found them, Admiral Helena Cain revealed that her ship had been tracking a Cylon fleet made up of two basestars, around a dozen support ships and one unidentified vessel much larger than a basestar. After reviewing Galactica's logs, Cain concluded that the same fleet had probably been following Galactica for months. (Battlestar Galactica, "Pegasus"; Battlestar Galactica, "Resurrection Ship, Part I")

Kara Thrace flew the blackbird stealth ship on an unsanctioned reconnaissance run and brought back detailed photos of the unknown vessel. Through the captive Cylon Gina Inviere, Gaius Baltar learned that it was a resurrection ship. The Colonial commanders realised it was a safety net for the Cylons chasing the fleet and those hiding within it: without it, a Cylon who died out there would die for good, so its destruction became the goal. (Battlestar Galactica, "Pegasus"; Battlestar Galactica, "Resurrection Ship, Part I")

Planning#

Thrace, now Pegasus's CAG, drew up the plan, which brought the Cylons to the battlestars rather than the other way round. The civilian fleet would gather near a handful of ships working a mining operation, and when the Cylons arrived the fleet would jump away, leaving a few civilian ships behind that pretended their FTL drives had failed. (Battlestar Galactica, "Resurrection Ship, Part I")

With the Raiders drawn away from their basestars by the decoys, Galactica and Pegasus would jump in within firing range of both basestars and engage them head-on. Lee Adama would take the blackbird in to destroy the resurrection ship's FTL drive with a missile and prevent its escape, while the fighters of both battlestars went after the resurrection ship itself. Destruction of the resurrection ship was paramount. (Battlestar Galactica, "Resurrection Ship, Part I"; Battlestar Galactica, "Resurrection Ship, Part II")

The battle#

Pegasus and Galactica jumped into position as planned, and Apollo knocked out the resurrection ship's FTL drive, though the blackbird was destroyed moments later when it collided with a downed Raptor. Apollo ejected and drifted in space with a punctured flight suit until a search and rescue Raptor picked him up. Without their fighter cover, the basestars could not match the combined guns of the two battlestars, which destroyed one and crippled the other. (Battlestar Galactica, "Resurrection Ship, Part II")

Stranded without its FTL drive, the resurrection ship was raked by Vipers from both battlestars, whose gunfire tore through its windows until the ship exploded, with bodies blown out into space. (Battlestar Galactica, "Resurrection Ship, Part II")

Aftermath#

Aboard Pegasus, Gina Inviere escaped captivity and shot Rear Admiral Helena Cain dead soon after the battle. (Battlestar Galactica, "Resurrection Ship, Part II")