The Cylon Death Machine

The Cylon Death Machine is a science-fiction novel written by Glen A. Larson and Robert Thurston and published by Berkley Books in 1979. It is a novelization of the Battlestar Galactica episodes "The Gun on Ice Planet Zero" and "The Gun on Ice Planet Zero, Part Ⅱ".
==Plot==
Starbuck and Apollo battle a planet of lost clones, mind-slaves of the Cylon warrior Vulpa, who are aiming the ultimate weapon at the embattled starfleet of mankind!
==Taglines==
*The newest Battlestar Galactica adventure
==Notes==
*Although broadcast as the sixth and seventh episodes of the series, the two-part "Gun on Ice Planet Zero" was shot immediately after "Saga of a Star World". The story's novelization was published as the second in the series of novel accordingly. At the time, this show was planned as a three-part miniseries, and "Gun" (or "The Ultimate Weapon", as it was originally known) was going to air as the second of three television movies. 
*Most of the book is in the usual third-person perspective while other parts are split into two first-person viewpoints: the lead convict, Croft; and the young captured pilot, Cadet Cree.
*There are excerpts from the Adama Journals in between chapters, but not in front of each one of them like there were in the first novel.
*There are no scenes with Baltar or Lucifer. Instead, various passages are from the point of view of the Imperious Leader and First Centurion Vulpa. 
**Imperious Leader summons up a simulation of Adama to study, then changes it to Apollo and finally settles on Starbuck, who's simulation engages in discussion with the leader. 
**The simulation of Starbuck reveals that the pilots refer to Adama as "Ironhull Adama".
**It is revealed that Cylon First Centurion Vulpa was exiled to the asteroid Tairac after he suggested that the Leader abaondon his pursuit of the Colonials. 
**Rather than being gold plated, Vulpa is described as having several extra black stripes of varying thickness decorating his armor. 
*The Vipers flown by cadets Cree, Bow and Shields are newly built from scrap metal and other materials in freighters that are part of the ragtag fleet and that have been converted into flying foundries.
*Croft and Leda first met on Scorpia, their home planet. Together with Wholfe and Thane they raided a Cylon outpost on the ice planet Kalpa. When they were arrested, Thane knocked down four of his arresting officers and killed two of them. 
*When Apollo finds out he is not allowed to lead the mission to the ice planet because he was classed "nonexpendable" by Adama. He complaints about this and Adama relents. Athena was going her father to ask to be added to the team as medical officer instead of Leda, but decided not to after Adama changed his mind about Apollo.
*The following Colonial warriors are also on the mission to Tairac: Sergeant Haals, senior gunnery master; Vickers, gun crew and Voight, chief of the weapons-repair section. Killian, the Viper pilot who accompanied the shuttle was also known as "Killer Killian".
*There are a couple of scenes involving another class of Theta Clones, the Planners (who are mentioned in the broadcast version but never seen). They are described as being the opposite of the Worker clones, gaunt and fragile looking with high-bridged noses and wearing large hooded robes. Worker Ser 5-9 first takes Apollo to the Planner Council, but when they offer little advice, he decides to introduce Apollo to Ravashol instead. One of the Planners betrays the presence of the Colonials to First Centurion Vulpa, leading to the Cylon raid on the clones' sanctuary.
*When Apollo tells the team to synchronize their timepieces, Croft is unable to figure out how his chronometer works, so he fakes it. 
*Ser 5-9 is not indjured by the avalanche, so he and Tenna remain with the group and join the assault on the Pulse weapon.
*Wolfe does not escape but also joins in the assault, and is killed by Vulpa, who picks him up by the throat and throttles him. 
*Leda is not killed saving Croft's life, but while descending a rope inside the Pulsar station when an explosion cuases her to lose her grip on it. 
*Boxey and the clone children escape outside when the Cylons attack the sanctuary. The reach the Cylon airfield in hide in Cylon Raiders. After the destruction of the Pulsar, Athena flies a shuttle from the Galactica to pick up the Colonial strike team. Vulpa launches a final attack against them by flying one of the Raiders himself, while using several other unmanned Raiders as 'ghost ships'. Boxey is still aboard one of these ships. Realizing this, Athena orders the Colonial Vipers not to fire at any of the attacking Raiders. Apollo and Croft steal another Cylon Raider and fly close to the one with Boxey in it. Croft uses a rope to enter the 'ghost ship' and pulls Boxey out, then Athena allows the other Colonials to shoot the final ghost ship out of the sky.
*In the final two chapters, Cree is honored by Adama on the bridge of the Galactica and Croft gets back his rank as Commander and his criminal record is stricken. Vulpa is revealed to have survived the final battle, although he is badly damaged. He crawls back into the ruins of his former headquarters and waits for rescue or death.
==External links==
*The Cylon Death Machine at Amazon.com
*The Cylon Death Machine at Goodreads.com
Category:Novels and Novellas