Aurora class battleship
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| Aurora class | |
|---|---|
 The Orion prepares to enter hyperspace |
|
| First appearance | "Aurora" |
| References | "No Man's Land" |
| General Characteristics | |
| Armaments | Drone Weapons |
| Defences | Ancient Shields |
| Propulsion | Ancient Hyperdrive |
The Aurora class battleship is a fictional class of spacecraft in the science fiction television series Stargate Atlantis. The Aurora class is primarily used by the Ancients in their struggle against the Wraith. Over the years the Atlantis expedition has come in contact with several of these ships, among them the Aurora and the Orion.
While it is not known what the Ancients' designation for this class of vessel is, the Aurora is the first of the type to be encountered by the Atlantis Expedition and the name is used by the expedition to describe further ships of the type.
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[edit] Technology and Design
The Aurora class are large battleships, equipped with advanced technologies. The Aurora class are vastly superior to the warships used by the Wraith, including Wraith Hive-Ships, and are capable of destroying them while suffering minimal damage.[1] Specifications of the ship are not available, however it is large enough to carry a crew several times the maximum capacity of the Daedalus.[2] In the episode "No Man's Land", the Orion is seen in comparison to the Daedalus, and appears to be approximately seven to eight times longer, and four to five times wider.
Offensive systems consist of Drone Weapons, self-guiding Ancient "missiles" which are capable of penetrating most defensive shields. The drones on the Aurora class are not controlled by an Ancient Control Chair, unlike the drones in Atlantis and the Ancient outpost in Antarctica. Instead they are fired in salvos from the ship's bridge. The vessel is protected by extremely powerful energy shields which have an orange-like color. The shields of an Aurora class battleship are contoured around the ship; however unlike an extra hull, the shields retain a bubbled shape.[1] The self-destruct is not only powerful enough to vaporize the vessel itself but also anything within at least a two kilometer radius, including nearby ships.[3]
Other technology includes Ancient stasis pods, supposed to be utilized by the crew in a state of emergency. These pods can be modified so their occupants can participate in a virtual construct, thereby allowing their minds to remain active during a long voyage. The pods interface directly with the ship's computer so the crew may also work on tasks while they slumber. Like previously discovered Ancient stasis pods these devices do not halt the aging process, they merely retard the effects of aging. Over prolonged periods of stasis, such as entire millennia, the person within the pod ages to such an extent that if revived they will eventually die.[3]
The first Aurora class battleship encountered contains 329 crew members,[3] however the ship can hold more people in emergencies.[2]
The Aurora is equipped with an interstellar hyperdrive for travel between solar systems. This hyperdrive can be converted from interstellar to intergalactic with a great deal of effort, allowing the ship to cross the vast distances between galaxies.[3] Sublight propulsion systems are used for travel over shorter distances.[2] The ship also has the capability to hover over the surface of a planet.[4]
[edit] Encountered Battleships
[edit] Aurora
Originally on a reconnaissance mission to deliver important information about a weakness of the Wraith to the Atlantean Council, the Aurora is badly damaged in a fight, forcing the crew of the Aurora to enter the stasis pods and await rescue from Atlantis. However, they were believed dead by the Ancients and thus abandoned, leaving the crew to slumber and slowly age over ten thousand years.
After the Atlantis Expedition installs a ZPM in Atlantis, a beacon calling all Ancient ships back to Atlantis is simultaneously activated. The Aurora subsequently activates its engines, although it would still take millions of years for the Aurora to arrive at sub-light speed. The Daedalus is dispatched with a team from Atlantis, in an attempt to access the vessel.
However, a Wraith scout ship also discovered the vessel, and gains access to its systems. After killing first officer Trebal, a Wraith takes her place inside her stasis pod, accessing the virtual reality the crew was experiencing. This Wraith's ultimate goal is to manipulate the crew of the Aurora into teaching him how to upgrade their hyperdrive technology. With the Aurora's captain no longer aware that they are in fact experiencing an artificial environment, and do not realize that he is being fooled by the enemy.
When John Sheppard enters the environment, the Captain suspects that he might have been telling the truth, but the Wraith impersonating Trebal convinces him Sheppard is lying. After Sheppard reveals that Trebal is a Wraith and eventually manages to explain the situation, the Aurora captain offers the information concerning the weakness in Wraith technology to Sheppard, but it has already been deleted from the database by the invading Wraith. With two Wraith cruisers approaching the Aurora and their bodies too aged to function on their own, the Captain activates the self destruct sequence. The Aurora and all hands on board are destroyed, taking two Wraith cruisers with them. The Captain's last wish is that Sheppard and his team will keep the memory of the Aurora and its valiant crew alive.[3]
[edit] Orion
The Orion is discovered in the hangar bay of an Ancient outpost on the planet Taranis in the Pegasus Galaxy. There, the vessel had slumbered, abandoned for thousands of years after being damaged in battle, until a people, the Taranians, settled there and began to investigate the outpost. However, with their technology being too primitive to make any repairs, the Orion remained mostly inoperable until scientists from the Atlantis Expedition arrive and salvaged the ship.
The name Orion is chosen by Sheppard, as the suggested name Enterprise seemed unfitting to him (in contrast to Jack O'Neill's vocal support for giving that name to the Prometheus). The Ancient name for the ship, Hippaforalkus (the name of a Lantean general), is not considered.
However, the continuous drawing of geothermal energy to power the outpost's shield by the Taranians had destabilized the underlying super-volcano, eventually causing a cataclysmic eruption. In order to evacuate the remaining settlers, the hyperdrive is repaired by Rodney McKay and used to exit the bay. Orion emerges in Taranis's orbit, just as the volcano erupts below. The ship is subsequently loaned to the Atlantis Expedition by the Taranis chancellor in exchange for helping his people resettle.[2]
Several weeks later, the Orion, under the command of Lt. Col. Sheppard, is used in defence of Atlantis from a possible Wraith attack on the city. At the time, Orion is unable to fire weapons, but has propulsion and partial shields. Its drone weapons remain non-functional.[5]
After an alliance with a Wraith hive backfires, the Orion is sent to stop two Wraith Hive Ships from reaching the Milky Way. Major Lorne and Dr. Radek Zelenka attempt to transfer shield power to the drone weapons, which results in bringing the weapons online, but makes Orion vulnerable to Wraith weapons. Once Orion deploys its first salvo of drone weapons, destroying a Hive Ship, the second hive opens fire on the Orion's unprotected hull. As a result, the ship is destroyed, but not before its crew is successfully evacuated to the Daedalus.
It is revealed in Vengeance by Lt. Col. Sheppard that the Taranians are not happy to hear that the Orion has been destroyed.
[edit] Tria
During the testing of the network of Stargates connecting Atlantis and Earth, the Daedalus discovered an Ancient ship, said by Dr. McKay to possibly be Aurora class, travelling to Earth at a speed of 99.999% the speed of light. Due to relativity, only a few years had passed for the crew, and the hundred or so Ancients were eventually returned to Atlantis. The ship's commander, Helia, took control of Atlantis and sent the expedition back to Earth.[6] The Tria's engines were being powered by a Zero Point Module that allowed them to travel at such a high speed in real-time, which was later installed in Atlantis to power the city following the human withdrawal.[6]
[edit] Other Ships
In the episode "Progeny", a flashback sequence showed multiple Aurora class battleship bombarding the Asurans' planet. The Ancient fleet also includes other warships of as yet unidentified design, confirming that the Aurora class is not the only type used by the Ancients.[4]
[edit] References
- ^ a b "No Man's Land". Stargate Atlantis.
- ^ a b c d "Inferno". Stargate Atlantis.
- ^ a b c d e "Aurora". Stargate Atlantis.
- ^ a b "Progeny". Stargate Atlantis.
- ^ "Allies". Stargate Atlantis.
- ^ a b "The Return". Stargate Atlantis.
[edit] External links
- "Aurora class" at GateWorld Omnipedia.
| Technology in Stargate | Edit | |
| Tau'ri | GDO | Horizon | IDC | Stargate Iris | Kull Disruptor | P90 | MALP | The Seeker Project | Naqahdah Generator Wraith retrovirus | F-302 | Prometheus (BC-303) | Daedalus-class Battlecruiser |
 |
| Goa'uld/Tok'ra | Al'kesh | Death Glider | Ha'tak Mothership | Hand Device | Healing Device | Intar | Memory Recall Technology | Sarcophagus | Staff Weapon Tel'tak | TER | Tunnel Crystals | Zat | Zatarc detector |
|
| Ancient | Ancient City Ship | Ancient Control Chair | ATA Gene | Atlantis | Aurora-class Battleship | Dakara Weapon | DHD DNA Resequencer | Drone Weapon | Healing Device | Project Arcturus | Puddle Jumper | Repository of Knowledge Ring Transporter | Sangraal | Stargate | Time Dilation Device | Zero Point Module |
|
| Asgard | Beliskner-class ship | Daniel Jackson-class ship | O'Neill-class ship | Thor's Hammer | |
| Other | Wraith Dart | Wraith Hive-Ship | Supergate | Ori Mothership | |
| Lists by race | All | Tau'ri | Ancient, Aschen, Asgard, Goa'uld, Ori, Tok'ra, Tollan, Wraith | Other | |
