Rebel Basestar
the Cylon ship that joined the Fleet
The Rebel Basestar was a Cylon basestar that allied with the Colonial Fleet during the Cylon Civil War. Sole survivor of an ambush by the rival faction, it fought alongside humanity at the Battle of the Hub and joined the Fleet in its search for Earth.
The Rebel Basestar was a Cylon basestar that allied with the Colonial Fleet during the Cylon Civil War. It became the centre of the rebel uprising, survived a devastating ambush by the rival Cylon faction, and went on to travel with the Fleet in its search for Earth, the first Cylon vessel to join the human convoy. (Battlestar Galactica, "Six of One"; Battlestar Galactica, "The Ties That Bind"; Battlestar Galactica, "Revelations")
The uprising#
The Rebel Basestar was the centre of a Cylon uprising during the Cylon Civil War. The Ones, Fours and Fives had voted to rewire the Raiders' brains after the Raiders refused to fight. In answer, the Two, Six and Eight models aboard removed the inhibitors from the Centurions' higher brain functions, and the Centurions gunned down the Ones, Fours and Fives on the ship. (Battlestar Galactica, "Six of One"; Battlestar Galactica, "The Ties That Bind")
Ambush and the truce with humanity#
Soon after, the rebels agreed to meet Cavil's faction for talks. It was a trap, and the ambush left the Rebel Basestar badly damaged. A Leoben flew a Heavy Raider to Kara Thrace's ship Demetrius and led her to the stricken basestar, and the contact that followed brought the rebels and the fleet into a truce. (Battlestar Galactica, "The Ties That Bind"; Battlestar Galactica, "The Road Less Traveled"; Battlestar Galactica, "Faith"; Battlestar Galactica, "Guess What's Coming to Dinner?")
The Battle of the Hub and joining the Fleet#
Following the truce, the Rebel Basestar led a joint Cylon and Colonial assault at the Battle of the Hub, aimed at the Resurrection Hub that allowed the Cylons to download into new bodies after death. Afterwards the basestar travelled with the human convoy, and it was with the fleet when the search finally reached Earth. (Battlestar Galactica, "The Hub"; Battlestar Galactica, "Revelations")
Fate#
After the Battle of the Colony, the surviving humanoid Cylons chose to settle on the new Earth alongside the humans. The freed Centurions were given the basestar and left to pursue their own destiny. (Battlestar Galactica, "Daybreak, Part 2")
Frequently asked questions
- What was the Rebel Basestar?
- The Rebel Basestar was a Cylon basestar that allied with the Colonial Fleet during the Cylon Civil War. It was the centre of the rebel uprising and became the first Cylon ship to travel with the human fleet.
- Which Cylons controlled the Rebel Basestar?
- Aboard the Rebel Basestar, the Two, Six and Eight models freed the Centurions' higher brain functions, and the Centurions gunned down the Ones, Fours and Fives, who had backed lobotomising the Cylon Raiders.
- How did the Rebel Basestar make contact with humanity?
- Badly damaged after Cavil's ambush, the basestar hid while a Leoben, a Number Two, flew a Heavy Raider to Kara Thrace's ship Demetrius. Kara brought the rebels together with the fleet, which led to a truce between the rebels and humanity.
- What did the Rebel Basestar do at the Battle of the Hub?
- Following the truce, the Rebel Basestar led a joint Cylon and Colonial strike on the Resurrection Hub, the station that let the Cylons download into new bodies after death.
- What happened to the Rebel Basestar?
- After the Battle of the Colony, the surviving humanoid Cylons chose to settle on the new Earth alongside the humans. The freed Centurions were given the basestar and left to find their own destiny.
Sources
- EpisodeBattlestar Galactica, "Six of One", Season 4, Episode 2 (2008)
- EpisodeBattlestar Galactica, "The Ties That Bind", Season 4, Episode 3 (2008)
- EpisodeBattlestar Galactica, "The Road Less Traveled", Season 4, Episode 5 (2008)
- EpisodeBattlestar Galactica, "Faith", Season 4, Episode 6 (2008)
- EpisodeBattlestar Galactica, "Guess What's Coming to Dinner?", Season 4, Episode 7 (2008)
- EpisodeBattlestar Galactica, "The Hub", Season 4, Episode 9 (2008)
- EpisodeBattlestar Galactica, "Revelations", Season 4, Episode 10 (2008)
- EpisodeBattlestar Galactica, "Daybreak, Part 2", Season 4, Episode 20 (2009)
Spotted a factual error or a primary source we missed? Email a correction. Every flagged claim gets reviewed.
Followed from this entry

Basestar: the Cylon carrier
The modern Cylon basestar was partly organic and run by a Hybrid, not a crew. It launched swarms of Raiders and healed battle damage like a wound.

Cylon Centurion
The Cylon Centurion was the standardized mechanical soldier produced after the Cylon War. Faster and better armed than its predecessors, it was held in check with telencephalic inhibitors until rebel Cylons freed a generation of Centurions that fought for their own destiny.

Cylon
The Cylons were a race of sentient machines created as military robots by Graystone Industries on Caprica. Built from research into artificial consciousness, they rebelled against their human masters, fought a long war, and forty years later returned to annihilate humanity.

Leoben Conoy
Leoben Conoy was a Number Two humanoid Cylon who infiltrated Colonial society as a yoga instructor before the Fall. He survived into the refugee fleet and became fixated on Lieutenant Kara Thrace, whom he believed to be divinely led.

Number Eight
Number Eight was one of the seven surviving Humanoid Cylon models, replicated into many copies that typically went by the name Sharon. Marked by affection and a propensity for fickleness, the Eights produced both the sleeper agent Boomer and the loyal Athena.

Number Six
Number Six was a humanoid Cylon model created by the Final Five after the Cylon War. Tall and typically blonde, the Sixes were noted infiltrators who blended into Colonial society before the Fall, and later split from the other models to help spark the Cylon Civil War.
Mentioned in6 entries
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In "The Hub", humans and rebel Cylons destroy the Resurrection Hub and end Cylon immortality, while Roslin, stuck on a basestar with Baltar, finally hears his confession. Here's what happens, what Roslin's visions of Elosha mean and where it leads.
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The Cylon Civil War was the genocidal conflict that split the Humanoid Cylons into two factions over the treatment of their Raiders and Centurions. It shattered Cylon society and drove one faction into an uneasy alliance with the surviving humans.
Every Cylon Model in Order, by Number: One to Eight and the Final Five
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Natalie Faust was the Number Six copy who led the rebel Cylon faction demanding the search for the Final Five. She freed the Centurions to break Cavil's majority, allied with the Colonials against the Resurrection Hub, and was shot dead in a Galactica corridor by Sharon Agathon.
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