Extragalactic Ancient exploratory vessel launched from Earth several hundred thousand years ago, prior to when many Ancients began to focus on ascension.
Destiny, translated from its Ancient name, was designed to be a follow-up craft to numerous ships which preceded it in the universe. These other ships were sent out to gather data, resources, manufacture Stargates and deposit them on habitable worlds. Thus there may be hundreds to thousands of isolated Stargate networks in the universe.
Destiny possesses knowledge on the composition and resources of these worlds to aid the crew in retrieving the necessary supplies. All that is necessary are the proper queries to the database.
Destiny appears to be the reason the Ancients built Stargates with nine chevrons. According to what is presently known, only one nine-glyph combination is capable of connecting to the ship (like a telephone number). This makes sense, as the Destiny is always traveling through the universe and cannot be pinpointed by an address designed to seek out a specific point in three-dimensional space.
When the ship recognizes it is being contacted, Destiny drops out of its faster-than-light propulsion to allow the wormhole to connect.
Destiny's course is currently unalterable. It possesses at least two shuttles for short-range missions, but one is severely damaged. When stopping in range of a Stargate network the ship allots a specific number of hours to investigate the worlds in range. This too is unalterable.
Away teams not back aboard the ship by the time she re-enters F.T.L. become stranded, as most planets do not possess the massive power requirements to re-dial the ship.
Nicholas Rush risked the lives of more than 80 officers and visitors of Icarus Base to connect to the Destiny rather than return to Earth. While he has faith that the ship is their best hope at getting home, many believe the lives of the people are not his primary concern.
PUDDLE JUMPER
Cylindrical, multi-purpose craft created by the Ancients, and aerodynamically designed for transportation through Stargates. Each mid-sized ship is armed with at least six drone weapons, hidden in drive pods that emerge from the ship's rear port and starboard sides. The drive pods themselves offer additional maneuverability and speed, and must be retracted into the sides of the ship in order for the vessel to fit through a Stargate.
The Puddle Jumper (nicknamed by Major John Sheppard -- its true Ancient name is unknown) possesses an invisibility shield that, when engaged, makes the craft invisible to the naked eye and to advanced sensors. The cloak may be engaged when the ship is in flight, or when it had landed and powered down.
A large view port occupies the ship's forward section, with a smaller port at the stern for individuals in the back. The ship can support roughly a dozen individuals in the event of a rescue (including seats for the pilot and co-pilot in the forward compartment), though this is not recommended for extended travel time. There are no rest facilities aboard the craft, nor are there any emergency escape pods. A partition may be lowered to separate the forward and rear compartments, and the rear contains junctions by which basic ship functions, such as drive pod control, may be accessed.
Though the Puddle Jumper can be piloted by hand controls, these may be secondary, as the craft interfaces with the mind of the pilot. On-screen geographical readouts as well as relevant technology may be immediately put at a pilot's disposal with a simple thought. A center console sits between the pilot and co-pilot seats and includes a modified dial-home device, allowing the ship to directly access a nearby Stargate and dial an address. Automated systems guide the ship through the event horizon when the ship draws within a few meters of the gate.
The craft is capable of impressive speeds -- but perhaps even more impressive are the breaking thrusters, which can bring the craft to a dead halt upon arriving through the Stargate into an extremely tight space, such as the Atlantis gate room. The ship must also therefore possess advanced intertial dampeners for the safety and comfort of its occupants.
Aurora
Ancient warship in service during the first siege of Atlantis. The Aurora was dispatched to the outer rim of the Pegasus Galaxy in the hopes of gathering information pertaining to a weakness in Wraith defenses.
Eventually the Aurora succeeded in its mission, but it was unfortunately ten thousand years late. The ship only began a course back to Atlantis when it reactivated itself following the initiation of a homing beacon in the Lantean system.
The Aurora contained hundreds of stasis pods for the crew to inhabit during extremely extended journeys or in the event that life support failed. Within the pods was a vast network where each user could connect themselves to an artificial reality. This reality was directly linked to the ship's actual computer database. From the virtual environment changes could be made, and files even deleted, from within the artificial world.
The Aurora was destroyed when Colonel John Sheppard was given self destruct codes by the captain himself, after he realized that he and his crew were too old beyond help. With the destruction of the ship, two Wraith cruisers were prevented from reporting Atlantis's survival to the rest of the hive who believed it had been destroyed.
USED BY - Ancients
FIRST APPEARED - Aurora
