Taking place in the third year of the Colonial Exodus, and arguably the most important battle
of the Second Cylon War, the Battle of New Caprica was an attempt by the colonial fleet
to recover those new caprican settlers and civilian starships that had become trapped
on the planet after its occupation by the Cylons.
The stakes of the battle were higher than any engagement previously fought by the Colonial
Fleet, victory would mean the rescue of almost 40,000 civilians, who collectively made up
the bulk of the human race at the time, but the attempt placed both the colonial fleet,
and the subjugated colonists in great danger, and risked the very extinction of the entire
human species.
The plan through which the colonials hoped to rescue their New Caprican brethren, was
developed by Admiral William Adama.
As a contingency in case of failure, Commander Lee Adama of the Battlestar Pegasus, being
in control of the tactically superior vessel, would keep his ship and its fighter complement
out of the battle, to protect the colonial fleet, and take over as its flagship should
the Galactica not return from New Caprica.
The spaceborne attack was coordinated with elements of the New Caprican resistance on
the surface, at the time of the Galactica’s arrival, resistance ground forces would begin
a full-scale uprising against their Cylon occupiers, in theory this would create a serious
distraction for the Cylons, forcing them to react to two separate attacks, but it also
provided an opportunity for the resistance to secure the launch keys to their grounded
vessels, and begin evacuating the system under the cover of Galactica’s guns.
The Colonials began the engagement by jumping the Battlestar Galactica into the perimeter
of the New Caprica Nebula, where it was concealed from Cylon detection, and deploying a wing
of assault raptors and vipers under the command of Galactica’s CAG, Captain Louanne Katrine.
Assuming positons some distance from their mothership, the Assault Raptors then launched
two salvos of Swallow-class Guided Drones, the two flights of drones were programmed
to broadcast collective signals, which would cause them to appear on DRADIS as the Battlestars
Galactica and Pegasus respectively, seemingly having jumped into the system to begin their
attack.
On the surface, the civilian uprising was well underway, and the distracted Cylon commanders
interpreted the DRADIS signals exactly as the colonials hoped, moving their defensive
fleet of two Basestars and their respective raider complements, toward the drone clusters.
Once their vanguard of raiders reached the detected DRADIS signatures, the Cylons realised
too late, that they had been deceived, what followed was considered one of the boldest
and most creative military tactics ever employed, and would be remembered by history as the
Adama Maneuver.
On the order of Admiral Adama, the Galactica performed an intra-atmospheric combat jump,
emerging kilometres above New Caprica city, and rapidly falling toward the planet’s
surface.
As the Battlestar fell it spooled it’s FTL drives, whilst simultaneously launching an
entire wing of Vipers into the skies of New Caprica, well beyond the Cylon Blockade that
had been deployed to stop them.
Having departed their mothership, the Vipers began to support the Resistance forces on
the ground, eliminating any weapons platforms or defence towers that could pose a threat
to the escaping civilians or their ships.
With its fighters deployed, the Galactica re-engaged it’s FTL drive a mere hundred
feet from the planet’s surface, leaving a flaming silhouette and deafening thunderclap
in its wake, as it returned to high orbit.
As the Galactica returned to its orbital position, it discovered the Cylon defence fleet in disarray,
with their raider wings spread across the gravity well, either returning from their
interception of the decoy drones, or attempting to engage the Wing of Raptors and Vipers that
had deployed them, this forced the two Basestars to engage the Galactica without their fighter
support, pulling them into a position where they could not engage any escaping civilian
vessels, and placing them in serious danger of destruction beneath the Galactica’s guns.
This colonial good fortune would not last however, as the Galactica moved into positon
to engage the unescorted Basestars, two more full-strength Basestars the Cylons had kept
in reserve, were deployed via FTL on the Galactica’s flank, and the Battlestar was caught in a
brutal crossfire between four Cylon warships and two wings of fighters.
Taking heavy damage, the Galactica suffered a temporary loss of its Jump-capability, and
was unable to escape the system, as cylon missiles continued to buckle its hull plating,
the vessel began to suffer critical explosive decompressions, and though the Cylons had
been successfully drawn away from the escaping civilian flotilla, the Galactica’s destruction
seemed certain.
But the Colonials had reinforcements of their own.
Emerging via combat jump, the Battlestar Pegasus appeared on the Cylon’s flank.
In violation of orders, Commander Lee Adama had left his ship’s fighter complement to
escort the Colonial Fleet, and jumped to the New Caprica system to rescue the Galactica.
The goliath Mercury Class Battlestar charged toward the disoriented Cylons, quickly reducing
a Basestar to flaming ruin beneath its massive forward guns, and forcing the enemy to shift
their fire away from the Galactica and redeploy their fleet.
With its FTL Unit back online and auxiliary craft landed, the Galactica jumped out of
the engagement zone, accompanied by the last of the escaping civilian ships.
Though it had saved the Galactica from destruction, the Battlestar Pegasus had suffered catastrophic
damage, and its own FTL systems were now disabled.
Giving the order to abandon ship, Commander Lee Adama plotted a collision course with
the closest Cylon Basestar, before evacuating his skeleton crew aboard Raptors and fleeing
the battlefield.
With her crew safely out of danger, the Pegasus cruised through the raging battle around it
and slammed into the hull its target Basestar, destroying both vessels completely.
As the battlestar’s fusion core overloaded, it catapulted the ship’s severed starboard
flight pod away from the blast, and the huge chunk of debris collided with another of the
Cylon’s warships, crushing its hull and tearing its spaceframe apart.
Though she did survive the engagement, the Battlestar Pegasus paved the road to its destruction
with the battered husks of two Cylon Basestars, and through its sacrifice, saved the lives
of the Galactica’s crew, and those of almost 40,000 civilians.
Though hard fought and sorely won, the Colonials had achieved a strategic victory over New
Caprica, the countless civilians recovered from the planet would ensure the sustainability
of the human race, and though the fleet would never again know the security it enjoyed under
the protection of the Battlestar Pegasus, it would nevertheless survive to carry humanity
to its ultimate destination.