Battlestar Galactica, a series of book adaptations, comics, video games, miniseries, novels and beyond, follows the saga of a group of humans who live in a distant universe and inhabit planets called the 12 colonies. The central action is the conflict between the colonies and another cybernetic race called the "Cylons." The 12 colonies are nearly demolished when the Cylons, aided by a human named Baltar, execute a surprise attack and force the colonies to flee. The sole surviving military ship is called the Battlestar Galactica, and, under the direction of Commander Adama, seek to find refuge on a distant planet called "Earth."