The Colony
the Cylon homeworld
The Colony was a massive space station the Cylons built around the original ship of the Final Five after the First Cylon War, serving as their de facto homeworld. It was destroyed when Galactica raided it to recover the child Hera and it was driven into the accretion disc of a naked singularity.
The Colony was a massive space station the Cylons built around the original ship of the Final Five following the First Cylon War, and it represented their de facto homeworld. It was the place where the eight Humanoid Cylon models were created, and it was destroyed during the battle Galactica fought to recover the child Hera. (Battlestar Galactica, "No Exit"; "Islanded in a Stream of Stars"; "Daybreak, Part 2")
Origins#
The Colony was built around the sublight vessel used by the Final Five Cylons, Samuel Anders, Tory Foster, Ellen Tigh, Saul Tigh, and Galen Tyrol. When the First Cylon War ended with the Cimtar Peace Accords, the Cylons withdrew from the Colonies to the Colony, where, with the help of the Final Five, they constructed the eight Humanoid Cylon models. It served thereafter as the mobile Cylon homeworld. (Battlestar Galactica, "No Exit"; "Islanded in a Stream of Stars")
The Fall and the Cylon Civil War#
Before the Fall of the Twelve Colonies, the Cylon invasion fleet massed at the Colony and jumped from there directly to the Cyrannus star system. After the outbreak of the Cylon Civil War, the Colony fell into the hands of the Cylon loyalists led by the Number Ones, and Cavil, who had kept its location secret, moved it into a stable orbit within the accretion disc of a naked singularity. (Battlestar Galactica: The Plan; Battlestar Galactica, "No Exit"; "Islanded in a Stream of Stars"; "Daybreak, Part 1")
The Battle of the Colony#
When the Number Eight Sharon Valerii kidnapped Hera, she took the child to the Colony to be dissected in the hope of unlocking the mystery of Cylon reproduction. To rescue her, Galactica mounted a bold offensive against the Colony, ramming it and sending boarding parties aboard. Under heavy fire from both modern Centurions and the older Centurion Model 0005, the boarding parties secured Hera and returned her to the ship. In the ensuing chaos, a damaged Raptor, its pilot already dead, inadvertently launched its nuclear warheads into the Colony, disabling its sublight drives and pushing it deeper into the accretion disc of the singularity. After Galactica jumped away, the Colony was presumably crushed by the immense gravitational forces of the black hole. (Battlestar Galactica, "Daybreak, Part 1"; "Daybreak, Part 2")
Design and armament#
Built around the Final Five's sublight vessel, the Colony was an immense space station that served as the mobile Cylon homeworld. It was a biomechanical structure similar in make-up to the modern basestars, its systems run by multiple Hybrids. The Colony featured large arm-like structures, was capable of faster-than-light travel, and could hold a stable orbit even inside the accretion disc of a singularity. (Battlestar Galactica, "Islanded in a Stream of Stars"; "Daybreak, Part 2")
It was armed with multiple single-barrel heavy guns and quad-barrel point-defence batteries, and the battle with Galactica was fought at point-blank range. Unlike the modern basestar, the Colony housed old Cylon War-era Raiders of the First Cylon War alongside the newer autonomous Raiders and Heavy Raiders, and both old and new Centurions. (Battlestar Galactica, "Islanded in a Stream of Stars"; "Daybreak, Part 2")
Frequently asked questions
- What was the Colony in Battlestar Galactica?
- The Colony was a massive space station the Cylons built around the original ship of the Final Five following the First Cylon War. It served as their de facto homeworld and was the place where the eight Humanoid Cylon models were created.
- Why did Galactica attack the Colony?
- After the Number Eight Sharon Valerii kidnapped the child Hera and took her to the Colony to be studied for the secret of Cylon reproduction, Galactica mounted an offensive to rescue her, ramming the station and sending boarding parties aboard.
- How was the Colony destroyed?
- During the rescue of Hera, a damaged Raptor inadvertently launched its nuclear warheads into the Colony, disabling its sublight drives and pushing it deeper into the accretion disc of a naked singularity. After Galactica jumped away, the Colony was presumably crushed by the gravitational forces of the black hole.
Sources
- EpisodeBattlestar Galactica, "No Exit", Season 4, Episode 15 (2009)
- EpisodeBattlestar Galactica, "Islanded in a Stream of Stars", Season 4, Episode 18 (2009)
- EpisodeBattlestar Galactica, "Daybreak, Part 1", Season 4, Episode 19 (2009)
- EpisodeBattlestar Galactica, "Daybreak, Part 2", Season 4 finale (2009)
- FilmBattlestar Galactica: The Plan, Universal Cable Productions, 2009
Spotted a factual error or a primary source we missed? Email a correction. Every flagged claim gets reviewed.
Followed from this entry
Galactica
Galactica was a Jupiter-class battlestar that served the Colonial Fleet from the Cylon War until the discovery of Earth. Never networked, it survived the Fall of the Twelve Colonies and shepherded the last fifty thousand humans across uncharted space before being scuttled into the sun.
Heavy Raider
The Heavy Raider was an FTL-capable Cylon craft introduced with the renewed war on humanity, combining the roles of troop transport and gunship. Armored, windowless, and brain-piloted, it ferried Centurions to the colonies and later carried both Cylon assaults and a rebel alliance with the Colonial fleet.
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.
Battle of the Colony
The Battle of the Colony was the climactic engagement of the war between humanity and the Cylons, fought when Galactica assaulted the Cylon homeworld to rescue the child Hera. It ended with the destruction of the Colony and the end of the long pursuit.
Centurion Model 0005
The Centurion Model 0005 was the line of mechanical Cylon soldiers that fought in the Cylon War. Descended from the Zoe Graystone U-87, they pursued a humanoid form and were later supplanted by their own humanoid creations.
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.
Mentioned in6 entries
"Daybreak": the Battlestar Galactica finale and ending explained
"Daybreak" is the two-part finale of Battlestar Galactica: one last rescue mission, a jump to a new world, and a final scene set in our own time. Here's what happens in Parts I and II, and what the ending means.
Battle of the Colony
The Battle of the Colony was the climactic engagement of the war between humanity and the Cylons, fought when Galactica assaulted the Cylon homeworld to rescue the child Hera. It ended with the destruction of the Colony and the end of the long pursuit.
Every Cylon Model in Order, by Number: One to Eight and the Final Five
All twelve humanoid Cylon models from the reimagined Battlestar Galactica, in order by number, from Cavil and Leoben to Saul Tigh and Tory Foster. Who each one was, the copies that mattered, what they wanted and how their story ended.
Fall of the Twelve Colonies
A single day of Cylon attack killed billions of people across Colonial space. Barely fifty thousand escaped in a refugee fleet.
Head Six: the Number Six only Gaius Baltar can see
Head Six is the version of Number Six that lives in Gaius Baltar's head, talking, teasing and steering him for the whole of Battlestar Galactica. The show spends four seasons asking whether she's madness, a Cylon chip or something else, and the finale finally answers it.
Number One: John Cavil
Number One, called John, was the first humanoid Cylon the Final Five built. He wiped out the entire Number Seven line and had the Five's memories erased.
Get new articles in your inbox
No spam. New lore drops, canon conflicts, and deep dives only when they’re worth reading.
Some links on Lore Fortress are affiliate links. If you buy through them we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.