Intro
|
|
|---|
Humanity is a newcomer to the stars. It has been a comparatively short time since the development of interstellar travel, and in that time Humanity has discovered the true vastness and cold of deep space. The distances are almost beyond the reach of the Human imagination, and can only be crossed with the aid of complex and powerful technologies. Even when Humanity reaches a new star system, the worlds that are found are usually disappointing; this universe was not designed for the convenience of Humanity, and most planets are not capable of supporting Human life for long periods.
Humanity fights back, as always. More and better Spacecraft are built, and the ranks of the explorers grow with each generation. Colonies have been established on dozens of worlds, and others are being slowly terraformed so that they can support Humanity. New life forms are found constantly; many are dangerous, but so far none have been a match for the intelligence, strength, and technology of Humanity. Indeed, until recently the most dangerous foe Humanity had found among the stars was itself; the kiande amedha have changed that, of course.
Because of the costs and technologies involved, the sizes of Spacecraft which can be built are somewhat limited. There are a number of standard frames. The most common in the military is the Frigate. Spacecraft are designed for use in vacuum. While they can land on a planet, they are not effective for combat within an atmosphere.
Among Spacecraft fitted with Jump Drive, the smallest is the Recon Ship, which is designed for long Jumps. Frigates like the Sulaco are twice as large as Recon Ships, while large cargo and military vessels at least 10 times that size.
Frigates and other Spacecraft use a great deal of complex machinery, and the results of a flaw in this machinery are obviously a good deal more serious than a malfunction in a ground vehicle. Routine Maintenance of a Spacecr'aft costs 1 OO,OOOC, takes one Month, and can only be performed at Service Bases. For complete reliability, a Spacecraft should be Maintained after every 25 Weeks of active use. Since a normal Jump takes 1 Week, counting Jumps is a quick way to keep track of the wear and tear on most Spacecraft; craft which do not or cannot Jump must be kept track of more carefully. A Spacecraft is capable of up to 25 completely safe Weeks of use after it is serviced. Thereafter, there is an increasing chance that there will be some sort of malfunction within the ship during Jump or Displacement Drive operation.
Commercial tugs and cargo liners are huge vessels. They are used purely for commercial work, and are vital commodities to all of Humanity. These vessels are protected by all parties because of their expense and their importance, and no force has ever destroyed such a craft. The large Spacecraft are not designed in the same modular, efficient ways as the more numerous smaller craft. Once a system is disabled, it has to be repaired in place and only a handful of special salvage craft exist which have the tools necessary for these repairs.
Space Facilities come in all sizes and designs, and two Facilities which are theoretically of the same caliber are likely to be wildly different, although they will provide similar services.
A
Adams
|
|
|---|---|
| |
In 2195, the Adams was stationed at Gateway under the command of Commander Hsu. Major Stone dispatched the Adams to take in the Kurtz after it returned to Earth with the Queen Mother aboard and refused to dock at Gateway. The Adams then proceeded to hook the tow lines to the Kurtz using its EMP device. The Kurtz's inaction, on the other hand, was a ruse: the ship had shut down its systems, avoiding being fried by the EMP. The Kurtz reactivated its systems, started its engines, and dislodged itself from the tow cords. The Kurtz rammed the Adam's drive control during the manoeuvre, destroying it in the process. The Kurtz was free to fly to Earth because the Adams was unable to pursue.
Adowa
|
|
|---|---|
| |
October 11 2118 – December 19 2119: Lambert entered Weyland-Yutani service as a navigator aboard the scout vessel Adowa under Captain Payne, [Flight Status BC].
Lambert stays onboard until joining the crew of the Weyland-Yutani towing vessel Nostromo in 2120 (also as a navigator).
Aircraft
|
|
|---|
Long distance travel is left to vehicles specifically designed for that purpose, including Trucks, public transportation devices such as Monorails, Aircraft, and Hovercraft.
The general category of Aircraft includes several different types of craft used both commercially and militarily. Most of these vehicles are capable of travelling from the surface to spacecraft in low orbits. The most common varieties are the Dropship used by USCM and other military forces.
Aircraft are powered by internal Fusion Power Generators, which use fuel that is only available at Service Bases. The Fusion Generator powers the Gravity Drive which allows the vehicle to fly and maneuver, and to attain the high velocities necessary for orbit. For complete reliability, the Generator must undergo routine maintenance after every 25 days of use, a process which costs 10,000 Credits and takes a week.
Air Pod
|
|
|---|
A little hover platform that can only be used by one person. Flywheel batteries provide power. It was meant for transportation, hence it came equipped with rudimentary sensor equipment such as radar and Doppler devices where it lacked weapons.
The Bionational Intercept's mercenaries utilised Air Pods on a kiande amedha Homeworld in 2192 to herd Benedict's marines into the Hive structure.
The American
|
|
|---|---|
| |
The interior was organised around a major hallway that led to the cargo bays and the flight deck. There was also a 65-digit and 40-number code for starboard navigation access. The cargo bay doors were reinforced with a thick layer of duralloy and were equipped with a code lock. To protect the ship from the weather, the exterior hull armour was made out of thermal tiles and hydraulic sheathing.
The ship was not built with human input in mind, therefore the systems were relegated to emergency backups crammed into the tight interior area. The surveillance camera was a low-cost Campbodian model. A long-range receiver was required for communication systems. Other, more modern technologies, such as an internal comm system, motion sensors, and infrared, were completely absent, as was any way to monitor the ship's outside. The ship was kept clean by a Zap Field and 6-wheeled battery-powered cleaning dumbots.
By 2193, it was stationed in Galveston, Texas, at a military outpost. During the Earth War in 2193, the American was one of the final ships to be evacuated, and it was secretly carrying kiande amedha specimens for Spears unique project. Wilks, Billie and Bueller commandeered the ship in order to flee the kiande amedha-infested Earth.
Wilks and Billie went into cryosleep after the departure, and the spacecraft accelerated to FTL. After arriving at its preprogrammed target system a week later, the American decreased to normal speed. The stowaways awoke and resumed their usual activities. The kiande amedha, on the other hand, had hatched and escaped due to damage to the cargo tubes during takeoff. Three of the creatures killed the fourth after achieving full maturity and used the acid spill to reach other parts of the ship.
Billie warned Wilks about the danger when she had a kiande amedha-related dream. Damage caused by the kiande amedha was discovered in one of the cargo bays. A kiande amedha came and assaulted Wilks as he was hurrying back to the flight deck to shut the cargo area. Wilks was able to kill it, but the acid spray that followed caused the part to suction. Wilks and Billie both made it out safely, but Wilks was hurt by the decompression. Wilks, Billie, and Bueller tracked down the remaining two kiande amedha in the aft cargo area and ejected them into space using cleaning bots rigged with small cameras.
The kiande amedha, on the other hand, managed to adhere to the hull. Billie went outdoors in an EVA suit to investigate and, with the help of Bueller, managed to kill the remaining kiande amedha.
After some time, the American arrived on the planetoid that housed Spears' Third Base. The ship docked and was unloaded inside the hangar bay. The techs also downloaded the ship's logs at Spears' request in order to investigate the fight with the kiande amedha.
When Spears made his hasty departure, the American was one of the ships he crippled.
Anesidora
|
|
|---|
The Anesidora was a spacecraft that was captained by Marlow. In 2137, the Anesidora brought a kiande amedha onto Sevastopol.
Anesidora is another name for Demeter, Greek goddess of the harvest, and means "she who sends up gifts from the underworld."
UAS Archangel
|
|
|---|---|
| |
March 1 2108: Captain Dallas is given command of UAS Archangel troop carrier, Flight Status A.
December 25 2109: UAS Archangel destroyed in enemy attack during peace-keeping operation on Thedus. 15,293 marine and civilian crew were lost. Ship unsalvageable, and Captain Dallas' flight status is suspended.
USM Auriga
| |
| |
The Auriga had a large docking shaft, opening to the ventral side. It has at least 39 levels.
In 2381, the Auriga was set on a course in the outer reaches of the Sol system, far outside of the local trading routes, and assigned to be the location for a project to clone Ellen Ripley and harvest the kiande amedha that died with her.
The ship was equipped with research facilities customized to hold a limited number of kiande amedha specimens and an artificial intelligence mainframe called FATHER tasked with automating and supervising operations. FATHER directed the Auriga's course towards the USM home base, Earth, following protocol for a case of emergency. However, Call managed to access the mainframe and re-direct its course to crash on an uninhabited part of the African continent. A short time later, the Auriga was destroyed during the impact, taking all kiande amedha aboard with it.
B
Benedict
|
|
|---|---|
| |
In 2192, the Benedict was sent on a mission under the command of Colonel Colonel Stephens of the USCM, its objective being to travel to the Kiande Amedha Homeworld to collect a specimen. The Benedict reached the planet, but the ground-bound mission eventually ended in disaster. During this incident, Colonel Stephens used to airlock A-2 to dispose of Easley.
The three sole survivors of the mission, Wilks, Billie and an android named Bueller, managed to reach the Benedict and depart for Earth.
By the time the ship reached Earth in late 2193, the world was already overrun by Kiande Amedha. The Benedict landed at one of the last remaining military facilities, where it was confiscated and used to evacuate key personnel of the Military Alliance.
Betty
|
|
|---|---|
| |
A battered old freighter operated by Frank Elgyn and his crew of smugglers. Powered by Lockheed Martin Special engines and equipped with limited space defense capabilities. The ship was also outfitted with an adaptable docking hatch which made boarding operations to almost every target possible.
In 2381, at the request of USM General Martin Perez, the Betty intercepted a transport and smuggle all of the transport's cryo chambers containing the passengers and delivered them to the Auriga research vessel. Elgyn and his crew had no idea what the USM was intending to do with them. The passengers were, secretly, to be used as hosts to cultivate a Kiande Amedha colony.
As the crew stayed in the Auriga, Annalee Call was revealed to be on a secret mission to kill Ripley8 that carried a Queen embryo only to discover the Queen had already been extracted and the USM is currently breeding a number of kiande amedha. Having failed her mission, Call returned to the crew, but her secret agenda was discovered by Dr. Mason Wren. Wren accused the crew of collaborating with Call and ordered them to be executed. Having no other choice, the Betty crew members killed their attackers and held Wren hostage.
When the Kiande Amedha broke free, the Betty was still docked to the Auriga. The surviving Betty crew members allied themselves with Ripley8 and fought their way through the Kiande Amedha. The crew suffered some casualties, but manage to reach the Betty and escaped just in time before the Auriga crashed into Earth's atmosphere.
The Newborn followed Ripley8 onboard the Betty, closing the jammed door and saving the spacecraft from the vacuum of space. As the Newborn approaches Ripley8, she uses one of the being's sharp canine teeth to cut her hand. Splashing the acidic blood onto the plexiglas viewing port of the Betty's cargo bay, she succeeded in her attempt to breach the window and cause the air to be sucked out along with the Newborn which caught against the glass as it tries to return to Ripley8. Subsequently is sucked out into space, unable to properly free itself from the suction.
The Betty was then used by Ripley8 and the reformed crew of the ship on their raid for information about the Loki organization and during the kiande amedha infestation at Domes Epsilon in 2389.
Borrowdale
|
|
|---|---|
|
|
The Borrowdale was named after a merchant ship that was part of the convoy that founded Australia's first British colony. The crew patch, which displays the Southern Cross constellation as well as the date 1788 (when the Borrowdale landed at Botany Bay), alludes to this.
In 2122, the Borrowdale was a transport ship for colonists, carrying 23,000 people. The ship was swamped by a kiande amedha outbreak on a regular cruise, which originated from samples being investigated by the Weyland-Yutani science team on board. Most of the crew died as a result of the catastrophe, and the spacecraft was destroyed by members of the science team in an attempt to contain the kiande amedha.
Albrecht was one of four crewmembers to escape in a shuttle, along with Mills, Nass and Ward.
Bougainville-class space transport
|
|
|---|
A class of military transport vessel introduced into USCM service in 2180. Intended to replace the Conestoga-class as the primary troop and logistic transport.
C
Capella
|
|
|---|---|
| |
The Capella was overrun by kiande amedha, and one of its crew members activated the vessel's self-destruct system moments before being killed by a kiande amedha. The debris of the destroyed Capella rained down on Earth, spreading the kiande amedha plague and causing apocalyptic devastation. Mankind’s only hope for survival is to fight their way to a deep space cargo ship and leave the Earth behind.
Carryall
|
|
|
|---|
These are the basic commercial Aircraft now in use. They do the hauling and transportation from ground bases into space and back again, as well as performing countless functions within the atmosphere. There are several different sizes of these Carryall, but they have been standardized and each type can be found on virtually any world. The same parts and systems have been used for years, and most are interchangeable from one model Carryall into another. This means that all Service Bases can work on all Carriers with the same equipment and tools.
The most common Carryall is very similar to a Dropship in size and function. It has a large Cargo Bay like that on a Dropship, which can load and carry two Cargo Pallets, or one APC. The electronics and basic equipment are even the same, except that instead of Weapon Bays, a Carrier has four additional Cargo Pods, capable of carrying 2,000 pounds each. If weapons are installed in a Carryall, the configuration is like a Dropship. The Cargo Pods are replaced by Missile Bays and the Chain Gun and Lase Cannon are mounted externally.
The Drive and Power in a Carrier, and most of the subsystems, are identical to those used in a Dropship. The real differences are that Carriers have several different frame sizes, all larger than that of the Dropship so that bulkier cargoes can be handled, and Carriers lack armor and weapons and have poor maneuverability.
- Capacity: Pilot, Co-Pilot, Cargo Bay, 4 Cargo Pods.
- Maximum Speed: Nearly unlimited in vacuum.
- Cruising Speed: 400 Miles per Hour in normal atmosphere.
- Weapon Systems: None. Optionally, two Heavy Missile Bays, two Light Missile Bays, one Chain Gun, and one Lase Cannon.
- Speed and Maneuverability: The Carryall is not designed for combat.
- Payload: If the Carryall is not equipped with weapons, it can carry two Cargo Pallets or one APC in its Cargo Bay and 2,000 pounds in each of its four Cargo Pods. When equipped with weapons, only the Cargo Bay can be used for normal Cargo.
Climacus
|
|
|---|---|
| |
The Climacus and its crew landed on the planet Soulages in the first decade of the 23rd century, years after the world had been quarantined due to a kiande amedha infestation.
Abandoned by its original crew and stripped by scavengers, it was discovered by the survivors from C-3 L/M in 2232 near a settlement which had been turned into an artificial kiande amedha Hive by Weyland-Yutani.
Conestoga-class space transport
|
- Over 385 meters in length
- Massing some 78,000 metric tons
A class of military transport vessels used by the USCM corps in the 2160s and 2170s. While being the corps' main instrument for moving and deploying troops across the far reaches of space, the Conestoga has also proven its value in a variety of other roles, like space combat and orbital bombardment.
By 2179, 27 of the 36 ships of the class that had been originally built remained in military service while the rest had been retrofitted for commercial use.
The Conestogas are designed to an 8-17-0 layout, an asymmetric configuration which offers the optimum cargo capacity within a compact and well-armoured hull. The spaceframe extends forward and aft of the vessel's primary power system, a Westingland A-59 fusion reactor with a maximum generating output of 3.6 Terawatts. Like most military vessels, the Conestogas use a lithium-hydride or 'dry' fusion plant. The basic fuel for the plant is the crystalline powder form of lithium-hydride. The specific gravity of the fuel is 0.82 metric tons per cubic meter, making it extremely space efficient, avoiding the problems of cryogenic storage associated with civilian reactors fueled by heavy hydrogen isotopes such as deuterium and tritium. The LiH plant accepts the powder in very fine form, allowing it to be shipped and pumped as if it were a liquid, and administered into the powerplant as a blown dust. The powder must be stored in double-lined containers to prevent contact with water, otherwise it will dissociate and react violently.
All propulsion units are located aft of the Conestoga’s main reactor. All Conestoga class vessels employ a dual drive method for sublight and Faster Than Light (FTL) movement. To manoeuvre in realspace at sublight speeds, the Conestoga is equipped with four Gates-Heidman GF-240 rockets that derive power from the main reactor. At maximum power, each rocket provides a thrust of more than 35,100 metric tons. However, fuel consumption is astronomical, allowing maximum thrust for only short periods. When FTL travel is necessary, the Conestoga employs a Romberg-Rockwell Cygnus 5 tachyon shunt hyperdrive. The normal cruising speed sustainable by these units is .74 light years per Terran day.
Spaceframe composition consists of bonded alloy and composite beams. These materials provide enough strength for massive acceleration while remaining flexible enough to withstand atmospheric re-entry. Hull armour consists of one armoured skin, heavier than that on civilian transports. The armour is composed of laminated insulators, micrometeorite shielding, composite material, and aerogel. Protection against projectile weapons is limited, as with all spacecraft, but the aerogel is capable of dissipating radiation from lasers and particle beams. The hull is also covered with radar absorbent material. The engines vents are provided with infrared suppression/dispersion. The hull coating is laser absorbent to reduce lidar detection. The ship is coloured in a dark charcoal scheme to reduce visibility. The foremost hull section provides the main cargo area for the Conestoga. Five 25x10 meter cargo doors on each side of the hull provide access. They have even been retrofitted into improvised dropship/shuttle launch bays. Underneath the cargo area reside the Conestoga's dedicated dropship/shuttle hangar with capacity for up to four UD4L Cheyenne dropships.
To reduce crew workload, and increase efficiency and safety, operation of the ship is fully automated. The Conestoga is equipped with a 28 Terabyte, carbon-60 based core mainframe. In effect, the ship could pilot itself and fight a space battle even if the crew were all dead or in hypersleep. However, at any time, combat or navigational decisions made by the ship can be overridden by the Commanding Officer. Backup is provided by an 8 terabyte mainframe and local terminals dispersed throughout the ship. Most damage control is automated by the Conestoga's mainframe. If the reactor suffers severe damage, the entire assembly can be jettisoned before an explosion occurs. If the vehicle is damaged to the point it becomes untenable, emergency evac is prompted by the CO or automated systems. The Conestoga carries eight BD-409 EEV (Emergency Escape Vehicles). If the crew is in hypersleep, their capsules will be loaded by the automatic systems. The ship may also be scuttled by the CO. Self-destruct protocols are initiated manually, causing the reactor to go supercritical fifteen minutes after initiation.
The Conestoga carries a light complement of weaponry that allows it to function as a light cruiser. The main space-to-space punch is provided by eight XIM-28A Long Lance ASAT missiles within a dorsal launch bay. The missile is self guiding, and is capable of homing through the reception of several different formats of energy emission from the target. Its warhead is a forged fragment ring that creates a lethal burst of fragments. Secondary punch is provided by several systems. Twin 800 megavolt particle beams run parallel to the ship's main axis. These weapons are powered from storage cells between the main reactor and the weapons. For close combat, the Conestoga mounts twin railguns in dorsal and ventral turrets. Muzzle velocities exceed 12 km per second, with a practical range of 100 km. A single hit from a railgun round is often enough to cripple a ship. Close-in defence is handled by port and starboard laser turrets.
The Conestoga mounts 80 megawatt infrared lasers capable of vaporizing railgun fire or crippling incoming missiles and fighters. A ventral launch bay carries 60 orbital mines, enough to deny low orbit to large ships. A dorsal bay midship also carries 20 decoys designed to present a radar signature mimicking the Conestoga's. There are also two manoeuvring drones designed to confuse enemy spacecraft. Space-to-surface capability is provided by a magazine below the cargo bay and forward of the dropship hangar. 80 free-fall, self-guiding Re-Entry Pods are carried. The armament carried by the Conestoga enhances her flexibility, allowing her to function as a multi-role platform independent of a fleet or taskforce. She can carry a sizable Marine complement while defending herself from attack, or provide orbital bombardment in support of a Marine landing or planetary action. This has made the Conestoga the prime movers of the Marine fleet for almost two decades.
- The Sulaco, a Conestoga-class ship, was at Hadley's Hope in 2179.
- The Sephora played a vital part in the USCM's efforts to retrieve the Sulaco later that year.
The Conestoga's armor sports a single armored “skin” consisting of multiple layers to provide protection against various kinds of damage. The spacious cargo area is accessed by 5 external loading doors and enhanced with two exterior crane tracks. This area is connected with the launch hangar below, which can support up to four shuttles. The Conestoga provides cryosleep facilities for 90 passengers, although the cargo hold can be outfitted with up to 2000 additional tubes for massive troop deployments. Additional life-support features are an adjustable artificial gravity system and inertial dampeners. The ship is outfitted with 20 EEVs, should the need for an evacuation arise.
Power to all systems, including the engines, is provided by a Westingland A-59 fusion reactor, its fuel capacity of 900 tons of lithium-hydride sufficient for one year. In case of critical damages, the whole reactor assembly can be jettisoned into space. An array of four Continental Electric AS-4B and AV5 series Magnetohydrodynamic turbines serve as backup generators. The drive section of the Conestoga is outfitted for both sublight speed, using four Gates-Heichmann GF-240 rocket motors, and FTL travel with a Romberg-Rockwell Cygnus-5 hyperdrive tachyon shunt, which is regulated by 480-510 mTY tachyon field accelerators and provides speeds of up to 0,74 light years per day.
To reduce the workload of the crew, the Conestoga class systems, controlled by a 28 terabyte Carbon 60 core mainframe situated behind the flight deck, are fully automated, with override and access options available at any time from one of the computer terminals across the ship. Auxiliary options are an 8 terabyte backup core and a third, localized backup system. The command options include a self-destruct option with a delay of 15 minutes.
Most of the Conestoga's sensors are placed in a phalanx of antennas on the front of the ship. Up to 90 meters in length, these antennas include two optical telescopes, two infrared telescopes and a 60-meter-long planar radio telescope which is supported by a 20 meter-long passive backup antenna. Active sensors consist of 3 main radomes for navigation and deep-space scanning with an effective range of up to 80.000 kilometers. 5 dedicated weapon radars are located over the entire shipframe while a dorsal antenna is used for FTL navigation. Communication capabilities are provided by a 60 meter-long hyperstate antenna for interstellar distances and 16 secondary antennas and various other systems, like microwave relays and low-band options, for intra-system and short-range transmissions. Stealth characteristics of the ship include absorbents, infrared suppressors on the engines and a cooling tower that further lowers the infrared profile.
As the Conestoga is mainly a transport ship, the armament is relatively light. Its main weapon is a dorsal launch bay for 8 XIM-28A Long Range ASAT missiles. Two 800 MeV Neutral Particle Beams with a range of up to 100.000 kilometers are mounted on the side and are able to fire for a duration of 290 seconds. Dorsal and ventral rail gun turrets are fed by an autoloader capable of handling various ammunition types and can fire their projectiles with a velocity of 30rpm over a maximum range of 100 kilometers. Port and Starboard laser turrets act as interceptors, with an effective range of 20 kilometers while a ventral dispenser stores up to 60 fragmentation mines. A decoy bay in the aft section is outfitted with 20 decoy ballutes and two decoy drones. Finally, a main magazine forward of the shuttle bay stores 80 Re-entry Vehicles that can be outfitted with a range of warheads, including nuclear weapons, for orbital bombardments.
USCSS Corazon Oscuro
|
|
|---|
- Class Weyland-Yutani Waste Disposal Vessel
- Captain: Speight
Samuel Elias Brett serves here as Assistant Engineer [Flight Status C], from July 14 2108 to November 9 2111. Brett fails a blood alcohol test on Nov 10 2111, and has his flight status suspended.
Covenant
|
|
|---|
- Designed By: Weyland-Yutani
- Regisration: 080417
- AI: "Mother"
Bound for Origae-6 on the far side of the galaxy, the crew of the colony ship Covenant discovers what they think is an uncharted paradise, but is actually a dark, dangerous world -- whose sole inhabitant is the "synthetic" David, survivor of the doomed Prometheus expedition.
Covenant Lander
|
|
|---|
- Designed By: Weyland-Yutani
This is the Covenant's orbit to surface transport. It has a fully equipped weapons. locker and medical lab.
Covenant Lifter
|
|
|---|
- Designed By: Weyland-Yutani
This is the Covenant's Sub-orbital mobile cargo crane.
D
Deep salvage ship
|
|
|---|
The deep salvage ship is a starfreighter of an unknown class that was used by the deep salvage team.
While scavenging through space in 2179, the salvage ship came across the Narcissus. The ship picked it up and the salvage team analyzed it for any signs of life. After the bio-readouts confirmed the presence of lifesigns, the salvage team entered the Narcissus for visual inspection, finding both Ripley and Jonesy the Cat in suspended animation and sending them to the Gateway Station for medical treatment.
Delilah
|
|
|---|
A shuttle at the Kelland Mining Company deep space mining platform Marion at LV-178.
An incident occurs in the trimonite mine on LV-178 in 2159, where the miners come across an ancient Kiande Amedha nest. During the evacuation to the Marion, over 40 personnel are killed when the shuttlecraft Delilah crashes into the station, and the second shuttlecraft Samson docks, but is over-run by Kiande Amedha. Only eight personnel survive - Hoop, Karen Sneddon, Josh Baxter, Powell, Kasyanov, Lachance, Welford, and Garcia. Hooper is ranking officer following the death of Captain Lucy Jordan. With the surviving Kiande Amedha sealed on board the Samson, they discover their orbit is decaying and send out a distress signal.
Doyle
|
|
|---|
A Sleet-class destroyer. The ship had room in its hold for 50 troops. It is equipped with holo-screens. Its reconnaissance drones are equipped with visual sensors, and can check for radiation leaks, atmosphere emission from damage to the hull, heat signatures, and other signs of damage or activity.
The Doyle was captained by Halley in c2681. Other crew was Corporal Jane Hanning (pilot), Sergeant Tew, Private Shearman, Rogers, and Rosartz. It held one civilian, Section Seven agent Del Kalien.
The Doyle left the Charon Station for a rescue mission, but it wasn't logged. Hanning would be sent coordinates once they were 1000km out from Charon Station.
The crew would eventually encounter a Yautja.
Drive Systems
|
|
|
|---|
There are two components to the Drive of an interstellar craft.
The first is the Displacement Drive, which displaces the volume of space directly in front of the spacecraft, and draws the ship forward into it. Displacement Drive is reaction less, and is capable of hundreds of G's of acceleration. Although the theoretical maximum speed of the Displacement Drive is the speed of light, the time and energy consumed in reaching that speed are prohibitive; in practice, ships equipped with these Drives rarely move faster than 1/3 the speed of light. The most important limitation on the speed of the Displacement Drive is power; the speed at which the Drive Field can move the ship is limited by the power which can be supplied to it. Since power generating equipment takes up a lot of room, this means that the faster a ship is designed to be, the less it can carryon board.
Coupled with the Displacement Drive, and drawing its power from it, is the Jump Drive. It can be activated whenever the craft is travelling faster than 1/5 the speed of light, and the energies it produces vastly enhance the effect created by the Displacement Drive. Instead of simply distorting space, the Jump Drive actually breaks through it, and allows the craft to travel through a separate dimension and emerge into normal space several light years away. The Jump itself takes about one day. Upon arrival, the Drive has to remain idle for six days to recharge, so a Spacecraft can Jump once per Week. During the six day recharging period, both the Jump Drive and the Displacement Drive are completely inoperable. This means that Spacecraft are very vulnerable after Jump, and must be careful when they are entering a system that might be hostile.
In order to emerge safely, the Navigation Coordinates of the destination must be precisely known and the Jump Drive must have enough power to cover the entire distance; these things are described on the next page.
Note that there are many ships which only have a Displacement Drive, without an accompanying Jump Drive. Such vessels are obviously restricted to operating in a single system, but have a greater payload. A standard System Defense Frigate is shown in the Ship Tables at the back of the book; it is the same size as a normal Frigate, but the additional weapons it carries instead of a Jump Drive make it a very dangerous opponent
Dropship
|
|
|---|
A collective term for a class of ships used for transferring people and equipment from a ship orbiting a planet down to the surface and vice versa. Dropships are used both for military and other purposes.
An example of a dropship is the UD-4L "Cheyenne" combat dropship used by the USCM in 2179, at Hadley's Hope.
Dropship: UD-4L ‘Cheyenne’ Utility Dropship
|
|
|
|---|
The Dropship is the workhorse of the USCM and of many other military forces in the late 22nd and 23rd century. In accordance with a Department of Defense requirement formulated after the Tientsin conflict, it provides transportation from space to the surface and back, and while within an atmosphere it serves as a combat aircraft and mobile artillery platform. While primarily designed as a dropship, the UD-4L actually fills additional roles on the battlefield, such as transporting goods or using its considerable armament to act as a fire support gunship.
- Capacity: 1 Pilot, 1 Co-Pilot, Payload.
- Maximum Speed: Nearly unlimited in vacuum.
- Cruising Speed: 500 miles per hour in normal Atmosphere.
- Weapon Systems:
- Mounted in deployable bays on the Dropship are two banks of Heavy Missile Launchers, capable offiring Hammer Missiles. There is one bank of6 Launchers on each side of the Dropship.
- Two banks of Light Missile Launchers are contained in the deployable Weapon Bays of the Dropship. Each Weapon Bay has 16 Launchers, which contain either Sprint or Dogleg Missiles.
- In the center of the Dropship's nose is a single Chain Gun, which is used primarily for low-level anti-personnel and anti-vehicular missions. There is also a Lase Cannon, which is designed as an Anti-Missile system but is also effective for Air-to-Ground attacks.
- Speed and Maneuverability: The Dropship has good maneuverability for a craft of its size, although it is no match for the Gunship.
- Payload:
- The Dropship is designed to carry and offload APC's and Cargo Pallets. These have their own drive systems, with which they are driven in or out of the Dropship on the Cargo Ramp which descends below the vehicle. The drive system on a Cargo Pallet is a very simple one, capable of speeds up to 4 Miles Per Hour.
- For items which do not have functioning drive systems, there is a Winch within the Dropship's Cargo Bay. Hooking the cargo to the Winch and bringing it into the Cargo Bay is a time-consuming task which must be carefully executed.
- Rapid ejection of cargo can be done with or without a drive system on the cargo. The Dropship must land, or hover just above the target location, and lower the Cargo Ramp. At this point, explosive bolts fire which drop both the cargo and the inner ramp bed to the ground. This can only be done after manual override of several safety systems, of course.
- Note also that for Atmospheric Reentry or escape to Orbit, the Dropship must have its Weapon Bays and Cargo Ramp closed. If they cannot be closed, the vehicle will be destroyed on reentry, or while attempting to reach orbital velocity.
Other models of the series include:
- UD-4B: The original production variant of the Cheyenne-class dropship series. Powered by Atco Wyoming F23 turbines. In comparison to later models, the UD-4B is 1.5 meters shorter, bringing the ship to a total length of almost 24 meters, and lacks the secondary weapon pods.
- UD-4C: A gunship variant of the Cheyenne-class that introduced the secondary weapon bay and the front-mounted gatling gun system to the series.
- UD-4E: An upgrade of the UD-4B, sporting F29-L13 turbines that improves the performance in atmospheric flight.
- UD-4H: A Cheyenne-class variant that is considered a landmark stage of the line. The ship's length was extended by 1.5 meters to a total of over 25 meters, making it the first version able to carry the M577 APC. New TF-900 turbines were added as well, in addition to a broad-spectrum sensor array and a command datalink.
- UD-4J: An UD-4 variant with an upgraded airframe.
"Bug Stomper"
|
|
|---|
The Bug Stomper was a UD4L Cheyenne dropship aboard the USS Sulaco, piloted by Corporal Ferro in 2179. Bug Stomper was used to deploy ground forces to the Hadley's Hope, deploying a detachment of Marines under Lieutenant Gorman's command. Bug Stomper released the M577 Armoured Personnel Carrier and then immediately moved into an overhead support pattern, providing aerial surveillance of Hadley's Hope and its surroundings as the Marines advanced. Once ground forces had secured the area, Bug Stomper pulled out and set down some distance away from the colony to await fresh orders.
While the BugStomper waited, one kiande amedha slipped aboard. Following a disastrous ambush in the colony's Atmosphere Processors, the surviving Marines called Bug Stomper for immediate evacuation. En route, Ferro and Spunkmeyer, were attacked in mid-air by the kiande amedha. BugStomper consequently crashed before ground troops could be picked up, destroying the APC and much of their equipment with it. The flaming wreckage then tumbled into the Atmosphere Processor, causing considerable damage that contributed to its later meltdown and destruction.
Ripley: "We've gotta get the other Dropship from the Sulaco. I mean, there must be some way of bringing it down on remote.
Hudson: How? The transmitter was on the APC. It's wasted.
Ripley: Well, I don't care how but we better think of something. We better think of a way. Aliens, 20th Century Fox, 1986. Movie.
Dropship: Raider 6-3 Dropship
|
|
|
|---|
The call sign of the Cheyenne dropship piloted by Ruiz in the final assault on Weyland-Yutani at the Origin facility in late 2179. During the engagement, Raider 6-3's aft engine was damaged by enemy fire, but the ship continued to participate in the battle until it was hit and forced to go down near the landing site of the Weyland-Yutani FTL ship.
Dropship: Raider 6-5 Dropship
|
|
|
|---|
The call sign of the Cheyenne dropships piloted by Reid at the Origin facility in 2179.
Dutton
|
|
|
|---|
A cutter vessel in service of the Coast Guard during the late 22nd century.
In 2192, two Coast Guard officers named Barton and Lyle were dispatched aboard the Dutton to investigate and destroy an old freighter named Junket, which was dangerously close to entering Earth's atmosphere. Upon arrival, the Dutton launched a remote probe to explore the interior of the Junket. After blasting an outer hatch, the probe entered the ship and relayed disturbing images of the carnage caused by the kiande amedha aboard.
After retrieving the ship's data banks, Barton and Lyle set the bomb and withdrew the probe. The Junket was then successfully detonated, but the kiande amedha had escaped aboard the probe and switched ships. The creature killed Barton and Lyle and, while doing so, caused a fatal hull breach which destroyed the Dutton, taking the kiande amedha with it. However, the data retrieved by the Dutton would reach EarthGov and provide it with the information necessary to launch an expedition to the kiande amedha Homeworld.
E
Einsteinian Space / Einsteinian Warp
|
|
|---|
A state of faster-than-light travel. Spaceship equipped with Gravity Drives were capable of using the Einsteinian Warp. Though highly advanced, the Einsteinian Warp made the use of cryotubes necessary as it had severely adverse effects on the human psyche.
Emma
|
|
|---|
In 1884, Bjorn Nyberg becomes captain of the whaling vessel, Emma.
In 1897, Karl Johansson goes to the North California Gold Rush. Unable to strike it rich and nearly broke, he becomes employed as a whaler by Sven Nyberg.
EEV: Emergency Escape Vehicle
|
|
|---|
A class of small modular vehicles installed aboard larger ships to eject and evacuate personnel in case of an emergency. EEVs are not full-fledged ships, often only provided with a very limited range and control capacities, its sole purpose being to safely transport personnel away from the crisis zone and home in towards the nearest ship, station or inhabited world.
An example of an EEV is the Bodenwerke-Gemeinschaft Type 337 used by the USASF and USCM for their Valley Forge and Conestoga-class starships.
The Sulaco carries 10 EEV’s, each capable of supporting 5 people in hypersleep.
Ellen Ripley, Newt, and Hicks used an EEV as they were ejected from the USS Sulaco above Fiorini 161 in 2179 during the electrical fire.
Several other EEVs of the same time crash-landed on LV-426 after the destruction of the Sulaco and the Sephora near the Origin facility later the same year. .
- LENGTH – 13.2 m (43.3’)
- WIDTH – 4.4 m (14.4’)
- WIDTH (at base of ‘L’) – 6.0 m (19.7’)
- HEIGHT – 2.8 m (9.2’)
Escape Pod: USM Standard Lifeboat
|
|
|---|
This is a USM Standard 12-person lifeboat (ovoid configuration) used on the Auriga. It is 25.5′ in diameter and 82.7′ in width including launching struts.
A lifeboat departs the USM Auriga in 2381 during a kiande amedha outbreak.
Evac Fighter
|
|
|---|
A small aircraft used by the USCM Corps.
Operated by one pilot.
Equipped with the Alienator missile system and a capture pod.
USS Evelyn-Tew
|
|
|---|
The Evelyn-Tew is a mile long and half a mile wide, decomissioned USCM destroyer.
The officers section had low-level faux-lighting, expensive to maintain and generally reserved for the plushier part of the ship.
Sometime prior to 2354, the ship was decommissioned and became a science vessel. Stationed in the Alpha Centauri system, the scientists begins studying captive Xenomorphs that had been reared from samples from LV-178.
By June 2356, Liliya — secretly an android — is stationed to the USS Evelyn-Tew in the Alpha Centauri system. Her orders from Wordworth and the Founders are to blend into the background and inconspicuous. By September, Liliya frees the Xenomorphs and steals the research. As per the red-level emergency protocols, the ship's automated response had changed course to plunge into the nearest sun in Alpha Centauri, to burn everything and make sure nothing survives. Unfortunately, the ship had been set on an accelerated suicide trajectory, due to impact the star in under an hour. Liliya is the only survivor.
F
Flip Ship
|
|
|
|---|
A Flip Ship is a space ship whose crew fell victim to the erratic actions of a crew member who had suffered a mental breakdown. Examples are incidents during which such a crew member opened critical airlocks or flooded the ship with radiation.
In 2192, the crew of the Coast Guard cutter Dutton at first erroneously identified the Junket as a Flip Ship upon discovery, when its crew had actually been massacred by a kiande amedha.
Frigates: Colonial Marine and Corporate Frigates
|
|
|
|---|
The Colonial Marine and Corporate Frigates make up the bulk of the combat vessels built by Humanity. The two classes are very similar, with the only differentiation being the modernized and somewhat improved construction of the Corporate Frigates, as opposed to the older and less efficient Colonial Marine Frigates.
Frigates are versatile Spacecraft, and are designed to deliver significant space firepower and one or two Strike Teams of ground troops with the minimum of cost. Each Frigate carries two Dropships, two APC's, and either one or two Strike Teams, depending on the situation. A Synthetic is also assigned to it, as well as two Auxiliary personnel and an onboard Navigation Computer. There are enough supplies and Life Support to serve an active Strike Team for 20 weeks. If the crew is in Hypersleep, it will last for 40 years. Resupply is handled at the same time as the Frigate's Drives are maintained. Frigates have one Class 7 Disruptor and two Class 5 Disruptors, as well as two Cargo Bays, each with a Dropship and an APC inside.
Frigates: Cruiser
|
|
|
|---|
The Cruiser is an upgunned Frigate. It carries the same cargo as a Frigate, but has better space weaponry. These vessels are designed to enter hostile systems and defeat System Defense Frigates. They are not common in the Colonial Marine Corps, but many are being built by wealthy Corporations. Each carries Disruptors as well as two Dropships with APC's and Strike Teams.
Frigates: System Defense Frigate
|
|
|
|---|
These vessels use the same frame as normal Frigates, but do not have Jump Drive. This means they cannot leave the system they were built in without a large cargo vessel for transportation; it also means they can carry more weapons than normal Frigates. This can give them a decisive edge in combat, and they are extremely valuable for defensive actions. They are cheaper to build than Frigates, and are superior in combat. System Defense Frigates have Disruptors, and carry two Gunships in their Cargo Bay.
G
UTX Ganymede
|
|
|
|---|
January 23 2103 – December 4 2105: Dallas serves as Pilot on UTX Ganymede military cargo vessel, under Captain Britten.
Gateway Station
|
- Orbiting: Earth.
- Built: Mid-22nd century
- Service: Weyland-Yutani
- Crew: 650
- Construction: almost entirely from advanced plastics
- Length: 2255m
- Width: 1195m
- Height: 265m
- Conditions: 80 floors, 12 flight
Multiple landing decks, military and residential quarters, medical labs, recreation areas, research and development, and briefing rooms make up Gateway Station, a multi-level station and space habitat.
Gateway was made up of four massive tower modules joined by struts and arranged in a cube-like shape. The station was at least half the size of Lunar One's sprawling community. In known space, Gateway served as a nexus for commercial and military activity. Gateway also served as a customs checkpoint, processing all commodities before they arrived on Earth. Most business organisations were represented onboard, including the Interstellar Commerce Commission and the Extrasolar Colonization Administration. The station's external construction was maintained by a fleet of maintenance shuttles.
The space station also had dwelling quarters for humans, with 15,000 people staying there until 2193. It hosted an Aerospace school for future officers of the United States Army Special Forces. There were also members of the Marine Space Force, Sol, of the United States Colonial Marine Corps stationed there. Most business groups were represented, including the ICC and the ECA.
The station was built in the year 2130. The USS Sulaco was involved in a docking mishap at Gateway Station prior to 2179, which cost the lives of five crew members, adding to the ship's already bleak image as an unlucky craft.
After the Narcissus was located in 2179 after drifting in space for the last 57 years, Ripley and Jonesy the Cat were transported to Gateway for recovery and further investigation. Pets were not allowed on the station by law, but when Jonesy the Cat returned with Ripley, an exemption was granted. Ripley would spend several months as a power loader operator aboard Gateway Station before settling into an apartment on Earth and then joining the USCM aboard the Sulaco for their mission to LV-426.
During Earth's kiande amedha invasion in the 2190s, Gateway became a safe haven for refugees, with severe decontamination standards to maintain this status. The crew of the station was continually monitoring signals from Earth in order to stay informed about what was going on on the planet. Wilks and Billie escaped General Spears' ship in 2193 and made their way to Gateway Station. They watched as Spears' plan to fight the infestation with his own kiande amedha army backfired with disastrous repercussions after they arrived. After that, they met with an android who looked like Ellen Ripley , who had died, to discuss ways to rid Earth of the kiande amedha scourge. In 2197, at the end of the kiande amedha infestation on Earth, Gateway was still operational.
USCSS Giler
|
|
|---|
Sometime between September 21 2119 – December 19 2119, Kane trasferred from the UKCS Powell to the USCSS Giler, serving as Executive Officer.
Grant
|
|
|---|
One of several large transport vessels stationed at Third in 2193. When Spears was about the leave Third Base after the failed mutiny, he ordered all his marines to board the Grant, seemingly planning to take them with him. However, when Spears departed, he crippled the Grant's drives just like those of the rest of the spaceworthy vessels.
Gravity Drive
|
|
|
|---|
A faster-than-light spacecraft drive technology introduced in the late 22nd century. Greatly outmatched conventional FTL drives concerning maximum traveling speed and was even able to enter the Einsteinian Warp. The drive operated through “waves” running through the entire vessel and required no thrusters, therefore eliminating any kind of exhaust. Another beneficial side effect was the fact that the fields the drive generates provided a protection far superior to conventional armor. However, Gravity Drive-equipped vessels also had one major caveat: The weight the ship was carrying had to be carefully calibrated with the drive. A spaceship with unaccounted weight risked severe course deviations. Despite its superior speed, hypersleep chambers were still a necessity on very long trips and ventures into Einsteinian Warp.
Shortly before 2192, Gravity Drives were widely spread, at least among military vessels.
The government transport ship Benedict used a Gravity Drive during the mission to the kiande amedha Homeworld, as did the K-014, an interceptor vessel sent by the Bionational corporation to thwart the Benedict's mission. The American, a cargo drone which would bring the survivors of the Benedict mission to Third Base, was also powered by a Gravity Drive, as were the Jackson and the MacArthur, the two large transport vessels Spears used to bring his kiande amedha army to Earth later.
Gunships
|
|
|
|---|
The Gunship uses the same Power and Drive systems as the Dropship and Carryall, and shares the same subsystem designs and general parts. The primary difference is that it is more heavily armored, and the Cargo Bay has been replaced with additional weaponry. The Gunship is nothing more than an armored gun platform, which carries a Heayy Disruptor,.four Light Missile Bays, and two Heavy Missile Bays, as well as a Chain Gun and a Lase Cannon. It is designed specifically for intense offensive combat, and is a devastating force within an atmosphere; it is a match for 3 Dropships in battle.
- Capacity: Pilot, Co-Pilot.
- Maximum Speed: Nearly unlimited in vacuum.
- Cruising Speed: 600 Miles per Hour in normal atmosphere.
- Weapon Systems: Two Heavy Missile Bays, four Light Missile Bays, a Chain Gun, a Lase Cannon, and a Heavy Disruptor.
- Speed and Maneuverability: Since the Gunship is designed specifically for combat, it is vastly superior to the other Aircraft.
H
Heliades-class space exploration vessel
|
|
|---|
Jan 17 2034: Weyland Industries introduces the first FTL-capable SEV (space exploration vehicle) - the Heliades.
The Heliades was equipped with two FTL engines powered by a 2.1 Terawatt RLF reactor and had a payload capacity of up to 9 megatons. The interior housed a medical bay, laboratories and over a dozen chambers equipped with HES devices. HoloTab technology was used to circulate FTL navigational coordinates.
On July 9, 2072, the second FTL-capable SEV, USCSS Prometheus was introduced to the world prior to its mission to LV-223. Heliades pilot, Captain Corin McManna joined the Prometheus test flight crew and was impressed by the ship's performance.
In Greek myth, the Heliades -‘children of the sun’- were the daughters of Helios the sun god and the Oceanid Clymene. Clymene is also the mother of several Titans – including Prometheus.
Hopper Ship 6
|
|
|---|
- Company Mining Ship WYM/263, Sector 118-M, Quad 4, working the Borealis Claim.
Somewhere in space, a hopper mining ship is collecting asteroids to harvest their raw materials. Suddenly the vessel's machinery shuts down in response to something detected in the rock being processed, and when the prospector in control investigates he finds a Facehugger entombed in amber amongst the debris. He collects it and sends a message to Weyland-Yutani, and the ship resumes its harvesting operations.
UNIC Hornblower
|
|
|---|
When a human spaceship discovers a vast egg-shaped vessel in Saturn's orbit, the crew powers in to investigate. Thinking the ship might contain usable metal for Earth, they force their way aboard. Three teams split up to explore the ship. Already the Kiande Amedha have awoken. The first of all the battles unfolds.
Hume
|
|
|
|---|
- Classification: Ought-Two class freighter
The Hume landed on the kiande amedha-infested world of Soulages in 2223. After the crew had abandoned the ship, most of the ship's internal systems, including the black box, were scavenged in the following years. The wreckage of the Hume was discovered on Soulages by the survivors of the C-3 L/M.
I
U.S.C.M. Irata
|
|
|---|
After receiving a distress call from the Golgotha training facility, the U.S.C.M. Irata rescues the last escape capsule with Lance J.Lewis aboard. After the destruction of the training base the U.S.C.M. Transport Irata spacecraft rescues Lance J.Lewis.
The ship is 55m in length, 35m in width, and 12m in height.
J
Jackson
|
|
|
|---|
- Classification: Large military transport vessel
Stationed at Third Base in 2193. Presumably named after historical figure Andrew Jackson. Sister ship to the MacArthur.
Equipped with a Gravity Drive and cryosleep chamber for long-range flights. The inner layout of the ship was divided in compartments, which could be sealed off in cases of emergency. The Jackson was also equipped with weaponry, escape pods and extensive sensor systems, including proximity mass detectors, radar, doppler and luxflect systems.
By 2193, General Thomas Spears, after having put down the mutiny at Third Base, decided that the time was right to liberate Earth with his kiande amedha army. The Jackson was designated as his command vessel while the MacArthur would carry his army and follow him on remote. After loading was complete and Spears had entered the Jackson, it and the MacArthur departed for deep space.
Spears entered cryosleep, and the ship entered Einsteinian Warp. After the ship had reached the Sol system and returned to normal space, Spears awoke from cryosleep and relocated to the command deck. With mild surprise, he detected that two stowaways were aboard the MacArthur. Deciding to deal with them on Earth, he began his preparations. However, the problem became more urgent when the two individuals jumped ships using EVA suits. Spears intercepted them shortly after they had entered the Jackson at the aft cargo bay. A firefight ensued, from which Spears was eventually forced to withdraw. Spears resolved the situation by sealing off the cargo bay and cutting off life support to the section.
However, Wilks bluffed himself and Billie access to an escape pod, and Spears was forced to temporarily leave the Jackson to check up on explosives on the MacArthur, which turned out to be non-existent. Spears eventually returned to the Jackson and landed both vessels in the Natal province in South Africa. As Spears' campaign ended before it started, The Jackson and the MacArthur were left abandoned at the landing site.
Jet Rescue
|
|
|
|---|
A technology developed for high-altitude evacuations prompted by difficulties in extracting civilians during the destruction of the World Trade Center in 2124.
Consists of a small aircraft equipped with a safety net used for rescuing people from tall buildings or similar structures. Some Jet Rescue crafts are capable of reaching maximum speeds of at least Mach 2.
Can be controlled from a cockpit or via remote.
Junket
|
|
|
|---|
A freighter owned by Bionational from the earlier days of space travel. The vessel had a standard type-five configuration and featured a nuclear drive.
Sometime in the early 22nd century, the Junket landed on the kiande amedha Homeworld under unknown circumstances. The ship and its crew managed to leave the planet again, but not without taking kiande amedha organisms with them. The Junket then set course to Earth.
During the voyage, a kiande amedha infestation spread across the ship. Upon arrival in Earth's orbit around 2130, the infestation reached its final stage. As an unknown number of the creatures massacred the entire crew, one crew member opened the exterior airlock, resulting in his death and possibly that of other crew members and kiande amedha. The pilot, already infected with a kiande amedha embryo, managed to eject himself in his escape pod and enter cryostasis. The Junket was now a derelict drifting in space near Earth, devoid of any life – except for a lone kiande amedha which had survived the struggle aboard.
By 2192, the Junket was now dangerously close to decaying into Earth's atmosphere, the Coast Guard cutter Dutton was dispatched to investigate the Junket and dispose of it afterward. Upon inspecting the Junket with a remote drone, the two Coast Guard officers named Barton and Lyle discovered the devastating results of the infestation. After retrieving the freighter's data banks and concluding the exploration without finding any salvage, the officers planted a bomb and destroyed the Junket before it entered the atmosphere.
The kiande amedha, however, had managed to sustain itself during the previous decades and used the returning probe to switch ships and kill the Dutton's crew. The pilot pod in turn was found and retrieved by Bionational, who would use the pilot's embryo to breed a Queen in its Lima facility. Soon after, this Queen would be freed and unleash the kiande amedha scourge on Earth.
Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter (JIMO)
|
|
|---|
JIMO was a NASA proposition for a probe which would explore the moons of Jupiter. The craft was to be powered by propulsion technology from Project Prometheus. JIMO was canceled in 2005 before production could start. However, Weyland Industries revived the project and completed it with the discovery of simple life forms in Europa's oceans on December 19, 2017.
K
K-014
|
|
|
|---|
A spaceship owned by Bionational. Equipped with a Gravity Drive and a hangar large enough to accommodate at least one lander-sized craft.
In 2192, the K-014 was used for Operation Outreach, during which it was under the command of Patrick Massey and used to pursue the government vessel Benedict to the kiande amedha Homeworld.
USCSS Kenamor
|
|
|
|---|
Sometime between September 21 2119 – December 19 2119, Kane serves as Executive Officer on Weyland-Yutani salvage vessel USCSS Kenamor, under Captain Kahn, [Flight Status AB].
USS Kansas City
|
|
|---|
The survivors from the kiande amedha attacks on the USS Sulaco and Anchorpoint are later picked up by the USS Kansas City, although it is revealed that the UPP commando has fatal radiation poisoning and will not survive.
Kurtz
|
|
|
|---|
- ATOL capable
- Outfitted for both sublight and FTL travel
- Loading capacity of 10.000 cubic liters
- Facilities for a crew of up to 20 people
- Designated hangar for an APC
- Nutrition supplies for up to 10 years
- Communications capacities were limited.
The Kurtz had a winged cylindrical shape with a pointed tip and a flat underside. The interior was arranged around a central main hallway.
On the port side were the cryosleep chamber, the mess hall, the supply area, and the crew quarters, which all had its own refresher unit.
The aft section housed the communal shower, a small gym and the medbay.
The front end of the main corridor ended in the ship's command section and bridge.
This area also housed one of five stairway accesses to the belly section of the ship, this one leading to the computer room in the lower deck. This deck further consisted of the APC bay and the cargo hold.
The hold itself was outfitted with hatches and walls half a meter thick and consisting of durasteel and lead layers. Additionally, it was coated with an acid-resistant carbslip, enabling the ship to safely store even the most toxic substances. Two staircases connected the chamber with the mess hall and the cryosleep chambers.
By the time the Kurtz was captured in 2195, the ship was vacant and docked to Dock D6 at Gateway Station. The ship then traveled to the Queen Mother Homeworld, where it acted as the group’s base of operation and remained in orbit for the duration of the mission to capture the Queen Mother. After the mission’s success, the creature was locked inside the hold, and the Kurtz began its journey back to Earth. After its return, a military vessel moved in to take in the Kurtz, but was outmaneuvered thanks to a cunning strategy suggested by Billie. The Kurtz then entered Earth’s atmosphere and headed for Orona’s compound, with masses of kiande amedha in tow which followed the telepathic signal of the Queen Mother aboard the ship. Subsequently, the ship landed at the compound and later took off when the team had finished setting up the bombs. The Kurtz returned to the site shortly after to drop off Ripley, who helped Billie to locate and rescue a little girl named Amy. After collecting the three, the Kurtz then left the scene just as the area was overwhelmed by the kiande amedha masses. The further whereabouts of the Kurtz are unknown.
L
Lector
|
|
|---|
- Type: Commercial Transort Vessel
- Crew: 15
- Cargo: In 2224, rendering plant processing 15 million tons of fish and animal products
- Course: In 2224, ranching outpost Prosperity Wells, Ryushi
Legato
|
|
|---|
An advanced research vessel operated by Weyland-Yutani in 2179.
In the aftermath of Hadley's Hope's destruction, the Legato was diverted from its original mission to collect Ovomorphs from the Derelict on LV-426. The Weyland-Yutani scientists aboard the vessel successfully completed this mission and received a new objective: To intercept the Sulaco and kill all survivors of Hadley's Hope in order to remove any evidence of the Company's involvement. At an unknown point of time, the Legato also received cryotubes of abducted colonists for kiande amedha breeding experiments.
Upon arrival at the Sulaco, the Legato's crew managed to establish a link to the military vessel via an Umbilical. Soon after, however, a kiande amedha outbreak took place aboard the science ship, which slowly claimed the whole ship. During these events, the Umbilical was severed by a marine survivor from the Sulaco's mission named Hicks and a colonist from the Legato named Stone in order to escape the self-destruction of the Legato, which occurred shortly after due to the actions of another colonist named Lisbeth Hutchins.
Leggatt
|
|
|
|---|
January 29 2115 – August 1 2118: Lambert serves as Navigator/Comm Officer on Ridton Corp salvage vessel Leggatt, under Captain Leigh.
September 13 2118: Lambert marries Lordan Hessutt, Executive Officer on Ridton Corp salvage vessel Leggatt.
UAS Leviathan
|
|
|
|---|
June 12 2106 – February 17 2108: Lt Dallas serves as Pilot on UAS Leviathan fast attack vessel, under Major Baines during Torin Prime Civil War, [Flight Status A].
Lifeboat
|
|
|---|
The lifeboat is a self-contained emergency sustaining pod built specifically for FTL ships of a sufficient size. It's a safety module with 7 luxury rooms and separate navigation and piloting controls that's installed in the ship. With or without hypersleep, the reclaiming decontamination system provides 50 years of breathable air to one passenger. The concept was patented by Weyland Industries under the file number 15,999,127 on May 6, 2057.
A model presented by the corporation in the 2070s featured seven rooms tailored for the exclusive needs of its user, a Cryotube and its own navigation and piloting controls.
The research vessel Prometheus was outfitted with a lifeboat module to serve as the personal quarters for Meredith Vickers during its mission to LV-223 launched in 2091.
Lockheed Martin Special
|
|
|---|
An engine type.
The Betty was equipped with Lockheed Martin Specials.
Mr. Lone's drone ship
|
|
|
|---|
- Bio Data: Synthetic Amerasian male.
- Affiliation: Weyland-Yutani representative
Mr. Lone's drone ship was a sleek surface-to-orbit limousine with stubbed wings and needled nose.
M
MacArthur
|
|
|
|---|
A large military transport ship located at Third Base 2193.
Equipped with a Gravity Drive. Unlike its sister ship, the Jackson, the MacArthur was unarmed. Lifeboats and most of the cryosleep chamber had been removed to make more space for cargo.
When Spears decided to unleash his army of kiande amedha soldiers upon the infestation on Earth during the events of the Spears incident, the MacArthur was chosen as the primary transport vessel while the Jackson acted as Spears' command vessel, with the MacArthur's systems slaved to the Jackson.
Shortly before the two ships took off, Wilks and Billie managed to enter the MacArthur as stowaways. The two entered cryosleep shortly before both ships entered Einsteinian Warp. When the vessels returned to normal space in the Sol system, Wilks and Billie awoke and found the vessel to be sufficiently stocked with rations and equipped with sanitary installations. However, as the ship systems were partially linked with the Jackson, their presence did not go unnoticed. Eventually, Wilks and Billie jumped ships using EVA suits.
Spears later was forced to enter the MacArthur to check the kiande amedha cargo for explosives Wilks had claimed to have planted there. However, the explosives did not actually exist as Wilks had merely mentioned them as part of a bluff to get himself and Billie off the Jackson. The MacArthur finally landed in the Natal region in South Africa, Earth, and unloaded its cargo. After Spears' campaign had met a sudden and disastrous end, the MacArthur was left abandoned at the landing site together with the Jackson.
USS Melville
|
|
|---|
The USS Melville and its complement of Marines are destroyed trying to hunt down the human/ Kiande Amedha mutant known as 'The Father'.
USS Montoro
|
|
|---|
In 2175, the Colonial Marines of the USS Montoro are wiped out by swarms of insects on LV-KR 115 while investigating a loss of contact with an industrial harvester.
N
Navigation Coordinates
|
|
|
|---|
For a Spacecraft to Jump from one system to another, the exact Navigation Coordinates must be known. These Coordinates are a mathematical representation of the gravitational location of the system, and cannot be determined from a distance. Before the creation of the ICC, the Coordinates for most systems were closely guarded secrets. When the ICC was established, however, the Coordinates for all systems discovered up to that time were made public knowledge. This gave the Colonial Marine Corps the mobility it needed to keep the peace, and went a long way toward uniting Humanity.
Systems discovered since the ICC was created, however, are considered Corporate property, and their Coordinates are protected as they would have been before the ICC. The systems shown on the Starmap are those with publicly known Navigation Coordinates.
Although Navigation Coordinates cannot be exactly determined from another system, they can be estimated. This means that in order to explore a new system, a number of automated probes are sent toward a star in hopes that one will land within its Gravity Well. This will allow it to regenerate its Drives and execute its automatic return program. As soon as a probe returns, the coordinates of the system are known. Once the location has been determined, follow-up craft move into the system. One of the first tasks of these craft is the recovery of the expensive automated probes that missed the system. Since the estimated Navigation Coordinates are reasonably accurate, the probes are generally close by; "close by" in this case can be many billions of miles. To simplify this process, all automated probes which fail to land in a Gravity Well activate a beacon which broadcasts on a particular frequency. The motivation behind this process is obvious; automated exploration probes cost 1 million C.
It is possible for people outside the Colonial Marine Corps to join an Exploration Team. They would begin as junior crew members, or as security for the exploration craft, and would spend their time at the edge of ICC space.
Narcissus (Shuttlecraft)
|
|---|
- Modified Lockmart Starcub Light Intrasystem Shuttle
The Narcissus is one of two shuttles attached to the Nostromo located under the port engine nacelle support. The Narcissus was the only operational shuttle in 2122, as the other one was out of order and in need of repairs. The Narcissus can support 2 people in hypersleep for extended periods.
The Narcissus carried Ripley to minimum safety distance after she had rigged the Nostromo to self-destruct in order to kill the kiande amedha that had slaughtered her crew mates.
The kiande amedha managed to escape as a stowaway aboard the Narcissus. Ripley was forced to blow the kiande amedha out of the ship's airlock. Subsequently, Ripley set course to the core systems, where she hoped that her beacon would be picked up by another ship, and entered hypersleep. However, the beacon failed, and it was not until 2179 that the Narcissus would be found by a deep space salvage crew.
U.P.P. cruiser Nikolai Stoiko
|
|
|
|---|
The ship is a vicious-looking mile-long slab of armament.
Rodina is destroyed by the UPP cruiser Nikolai Stoiko with a 20 megs nuclear strike to prevent the kiande amedha outbreak from spreading.
USCSS Nonnabo
|
|
|---|
- Weyland-Yutani commercial cargo vessel
Oct 27 2117: Parker serves as Engineer on the USCSS Nonnabo, under Captain Keeney, [Flight Status C].
November 3 2117: Brett comes onboard as as Engineering Tech on the commercial cargo vehicle USCSS Nonnabo, under Captain Keeney.
September 1 2120: Both Parker and Brett leave the USCSS Nonnabo to join the Nostromo on Sept 10 2120.
USCSS Nostromo
|
- Modified Lockmart CM-88B Bison Transport
- Registration: 180924609
- Onboard AI: Mother
- In Service Of: Weyland-Yutani
- Mass: 63.000 metric tons
- Engine: Laretel WF-15 fusion generator
- Original Propulsion: Saturn J-3000 drives
- FTL drive: Yutani T7A (0.42 light years per sidereal day without attached cargo and 0.12 light years per sidereal day with attached cargo)
- Thrusters: 2 Rolls-Royce N66 Cyclone thrusters (for sublight speed)
The Lockmart CM-88b Bison transporter underwent modification in 2116 in order to accommodate its new task of hauling automated ore and oil refineries.
The interior consisted of three decks (A, B, and C) and four main cargo bays.
- Deck A housed the bridge, medical facilities, living areas, the hypersleep chamber, Mother interface and the main airlock.
- Deck B provided equipment space and access to the emergency shuttle.
- Deck C consisted of further equipment storage, maintenance access and contains the landing struts (when retracted). It also contains Ash’s observation blister, and Brett and Parker’s engineering station (which houses the auto-destruct console).
While the crew was in hypersleep, MOTHER monitored the automated systems.
The crew consists of a Captain, Executive Officer, Warrant Officer, Navigator, Science Officer, Engineer and Engineering Technician. The crew are mainly on board to handle docking, take off/ landing, and to perform repairs. The minimum crew requirement for take off/ landing is four.
Nostromo History
In 2120, the command of the ship was given to Dallas.
In 2122, the Nostomo was on a return trip from Thedus to Earth hauling 20 million tons of mineral ore. Mother raised the crew early as its sensors intercepted a transmission of unknown origin from LV-426. Following proper protocol, the Nostromo was disattached from the refinery and landed on the surface of the planetoid in order to investigate.
The crew discover an alien ship on LV-426 and upon discovery of its cargo, Kane is attacked by a Facehugger. After the ship had been repaired from minor damage it had suffered during the landing, it returned to the Nostromo.
The Chestburster erupts from Kane, grows into adulthood, and kills all the crew except Ripley while they were trying to kill the creature. As Ripley was unable to stop the self-destruct on the Nostromo, Ripley races back to the shuttle, Narcissus, and not finding any sign of the kiande amedha, disengages the shuttle and leaves the mothership behind. It explodes, leaving Ripley to fend off the creature that had stowed away aboard the Narcissus.
Subsequently, the Nostromo and the refinery was obliterated in the self-destruct. The Nostromo and its crew was later declared missing, and the truth about the ship's fate would not come out for another 57 years. In 2179, when Ripley's account revealed the Nostromo's destruction, the monetary value of the ship was estimated at 42 million dollars by the insurance agency involved in the investigation.
Ripley [Attempting to contact Earth] This is commercial towing vehicle Nostromo out of the Solomons, registration number 1-8-0-niner-2-4-6-0-niner. Calling Antarctica traffic control. Do you read me? Over. Alien. 20th Century Fox. 1979. Movie.
Nova Maru
|
|
|---|
Selkirk, a God-fearing crewman aboard the space freighter Nova Maru carrying a cargo of illegal Kiande Amedha specimens, is forced at gunpoint to abandon ship with his captain. They crash-land on the small planet PCW9512, but it is soon apparent that they have not entirely escaped the Nova Maru's dreadful cargo.
O
Orbiter
|
|
|---|
- Crew compliment: 12 plus the pilot.
In 2440, the Orbiter take a crew on a game safari, but encounter the Yautja on a Hunt for kiande amedha.
U.S. Army frigate Omaha
|
|
|---|
After the kiande amedha infestation is taken care of, Northstar manages to contact the Omaha. The Omaha agrees to come rescue them, but are 72 hours away.
USCSS Otago
|
|
|
|---|
May 5 2115 – Oct 19 2117: Parker serves as Assistant Engineer on Weyland-Yutani commercial cargo vehicle USCSS Otago, under Captain Mortensen.
Otranto
|
|
|---|
The Otranto was a passenger and cargo ship. A chemical leak prompted the human crew to leave during a routine voyage, leaving synthetic crewmember Hope behind.
Ought-Two-class freighter
|
|
|
|---|
A class of freighters in service during the first few decades of the 23rd century.
One notable ship of this class was the wreckage of the Hume discovered on Soulages by the survivors of the C-3 L/M in 2232.
P
Particle Drive
|
|
|---|
The particle drive provides any ship the ability to bend space for instantaneous travel.
Two ships had been outfitted with it - the Savannah and the Rachel.
USCSS Patna
|
|
|---|
- Modified Conestoga-class Starship
A Weyland-Yutani rescue ship. It lacks an external weapon systems and is fitted with a specialised medical suite sufficient to perform the extraction of a kiande amedha embryo gestating inside Ripley.
Michael Weyland used the Patna to travel to Fiorina 161 in 2179 in a failed attempt to secure one of two kiande amedha - the fully-grown Dragon and the Queen embryo gestating inside Ripley.
UKCS Powell
|
|
|
|---|
Sometime between September 21 2119 – December 19 2119, Kane was transferred from the USCSS Kenamor to the UKCS Powell, a commercial towing vehicle.
Prometheus-class space exploration vessel
|
|
|
|---|
- Classification: FTL-capable spacecraft
- Manufactured By: Weyland Industries
- Successor to the Heliades-class
- Named after the Greek titan.
Classified as a heavy exploration and prospecting vessel.
Development took place from 2034 to 2072 and included an extensive testing phase performed by a crew led by Corin McManna, an experienced Heliades-class pilot. As the flagship of Weyland Industries' efforts to explore distant parts of our galaxy, the Prometheus class had its maiden voyage on its first official mission in the summer of 2073, an event which received much public attention.
The craft spanned roughly 170 meters in length.
Propulsion was provided by four nuclear-powered ion engines which could be rotated to provide the ship with VTOL capabilities and which were designed for both atmospheric and interstellar operations.
An FTL drive that was much more powerful than the one in Heliades-class ships allowed the Prometheus-class to travel to systems far beyond colonized space.
The bridge section at the front featured a fireproof windscreen, and dedicated antennae at the top provided intergalactic communication capabilities.
A cargo bay was located inside the ship's ventral portion and could be lowered to the ground like a huge elevator cabin to deploy vehicles for ground missions. The cargo bay provided enough room for five medium-duty exploration rovers such as the RT01 Group Transport, two heavy mineral extractors and four ATV NR6 quad-track runabouts.
The interior of the ship was spread over 4 decks connected by an elevator and a stairway. The facilities were designed with the requirements of scientific missions in mind and thus featured a laboratory in the central area and two medical facilities located in the lower aft section. The crew section featured two mess halls and two rooms housing the quarters.
Emergency escape options consisted of one Class D medium-range crew escape module situated at the rear of the ship that was able to automatically navigate and land and eight Class A individual escape pods in the forward section just behind the bridge.
USCSS Prometheus
|
|
|
|---|
- Scientific Exploratory Vessel
- Registration: 130748
- Length (main fuselage): 130 m
- Beam: 48.75 m
- Draft: 35.6 m
- Crew: 17
- Speed: 0.04 light years per sidereal day (Approx. 15 x FTL)
- Escape Hatch Code: 2167 (used in 2093 during the LV-223 mission).
Information about the ship's previous missions are classified.
In 2091, the Prometheus started its final mission as part of Project Prometheus, which had unearthed not only clues about the true origin of mankind, but was also able to extrapolate the location of a star system linked to this mystery from ancient Earth artifacts.
On July 6 2091, the Prometheus departed from Earth for its journey to the located system. After two years and roughly four months of FTL travel, the ship finally reached its destination on December 21, 2093, a barren world known only as LV-223. During planetfall, sensors picked up a huge mountain, which Janek chose as an orientation for the landing. Eventually, the ship touched ground just half a mile from a giant artificial pyramid-like structure.
During the following exploration of this structure by the team of scientists, the Prometheus served as a base camp from which Meredith Vickers observed the foray into the depths of the pyramid. The ground mission was cut short when a gigantic storm hit the site and the ship during nightfall. During the night, the Prometheus' medical facilities were used to examine an Engineer helmet and the head inside it. On the second day of the ground mission, the mission escalated as the endgame of the Engineers became apparent: Just as a Juggernaut vessel was about to depart for Earth in order to destroy mankind, Shaw escaped from the Pyramid and convinced Janek aboard the Prometheus to fire the ship's ion thrusters and crash it into the Juggernaut.
After jettisoning Vickers aboard an escape pod and dropping her lifeboat in order to give Vickers and Shaw a chance for survival, the Prometheus was obliterated in the collision with the Engineer vessel, successfully crippling it in the process.
R
Rachel
|
|
|---|
This is a prototype ship used by Alecto Thorp in 2140 to locate Keitel.
The Rachel doesn't look particularly advanced, as it doesn't want to draw any attention to itself. Its her "guts" that matter.
The Rachel was not designed for planetfall.
Recon
|
|
|
|---|
These are the smallest manned interstellar craft built. The limitation here is on the smallest Displacement and Jump Drive which can be created. Recon ships are used widely in business and the military, to transport important people quickly and discretely. Recon ships have only a single Disruptor, and have only a single Dropship and APC in their small Cargo Bay. They are quick vessels.
Rodina
|
The Rodina is smaller than Anchorpoint.
When the Conestoga-class space transport USS Sulaco returned from LV-426, The the Union of Progressive Peoples recover Bishop's remains and brought it back to the Rodina for experimentation.
Colonel-Doctor Suslov is stationed here.
S
HMS Sabretooth
|
|
|
|---|
November 1 2117 – December 19 2118: Kane serves as First Officer on UK/EU colonial transport vessel HMS Sabretooth, under Captain Lai, [Flight Status BA]. Unfortunately, Kane's medical addiction returned and was removed from position for re-evaluation.
Samson
|
|
|
|---|
A shuttle at the Kelland Mining Company deep space mining platform Marion at LV-178.
An incident occurs in the trimonite mine on LV-178 in 2159, where the miners come across an ancient Kiande Amedha nest. During the evacuation to the Marion, over 40 personnel are killed when the shuttlecraft Delilah crashes into the station, and the second shuttlecraft Samson docks, but is over-run by Kiande Amedha. Only eight personnel survive - Hoop, Karen Sneddon, Josh Baxter, Powell, Kasyanov, Lachance, Welford, and Garcia. Hooperis ranking officer following the death of Captain Lucy Jordan. With the surviving Kiande Amedha sealed on board the Samson, they discover their orbit is decaying and send out a distress signal.
Savannah
|
|
|
|---|
- Engine: Particle Drive
This is a prototype ship used by Dr Kucien Keitel for his expidition to the Derelict he discovered. He then left the Derelict for a distant planet.
The Savannah was not designed for planetfall.
USS Sephora
|
|
|---|
- Conestoga-class troop transport ship
- In service with the United States Colonial Marine Corps.
- Length: 300 meters
- Width: 50 m (164 ft)
- Height: 85 m (280 ft)
When the Sulaco was located by the USCM three weeks after the Hadley's Hope incident, an investigation by the Colonial Marines was launched aboard the Sephora. During this mission, the ship and the operation itself was commandeered by Lieutenant Colonel Patrick Steele. When it was revealed that the UPP was attempting to harvest the kiande amedha on LV-426, the Sephora spearheaded a large-scale assault against the UPP outpost. After the mission was successfully completed, the Sephora returned to the Sulaco and accompanied the ship during its journey to the Mars moon of Phobos and later to Mars. The mission ended with the death of the Empress aboard the Sulaco and the removal of Weyland-Yutani influence from the vessel, leaving the ship drifting into deep space near Mars. The USCM forces retreated to the Sephora, and the ship withdrew from the scene.
Following this, the USCM corps decided to mount a second investigation of the Sulaco after rediscovering the ship in orbit of LV-426, again aboard the Sephora. On December 14, 2179, the ship returned to the Sulaco, this time carrying the 118th battalion under the command of Lieutenant Jeremy Cruz. After it had been revealed that the Sulaco was under control by Weyland-Yutani PMCs, the ship started to attack the Sephora, which returned fire in order to destroy the Sulaco's weapon emplacements. Despite regaining control over the weapon system, the USCM were unable to save the Sephora in time. Giving in to severe punishment, the ship's reactor went critical, and the wreckage crashed onto the surface of LV-426. Only roughly 100 of the initial 400 marines escaped the destruction.
Service Base
|
|
|
|---|
Service Bases are owned by either the USCM or a Corporation, or may have joint ownership. They are near the primary inhabited planet of their system, and have the ability to repair damaged spacecraft. The tools present are capable of fixing REP damage, but the parts are rarely available and the vessel must dock awaiting their arrival. This can take months, and transportation costs are added to the price of the parts, making them very expensive. Any devices which are unusual in design can only have MAJ repair work done. The parts for work of this sort are often available for all types of craft.
Service Bases are usually placed where there are Colonies, and the types of goods and parts readily available at the Service Base are de!ermined by the level of sophistication of the Colony. What the Service Base cannot get from the Colony must be ordered from outside the system, and will be significantly more expensive.
Shiname Maru
|
|
|
|---|
Colonial Marines engage an extraterrestrial entity on the Shiname Maru.
USCSS Snark
|
|
|
|---|
March 11 2100 – January 9 2103: Arthur Koblenz Dallas serves as Navigator/Pilot on USCSS Snark salvage vessel, under Captain Van Shuyten.
Space Exploration Vehicle
|
|
|
|---|
Notable examples of human space exploration vessels include the Heliades class, famous for being the first such spacecraft with FTL capabilities, and the Prometheus class.
Stations
|
|
|
|---|
Virtually every System which has been explored has a Station in it, which is set up in the area where Spacecraft arrive out of Jump. Stations are the smallest and simplest of Space Facilities, and are designed to provide only the most limited assistance for crippled spacecraft. Stations are not manned, and the spacecraft must be able to reach the Station on its own.
The value of a Station is that it contains a functioning Life Support system, which keeps the crew of a damaged Spacecraft alive until help arrives. There are usually food stores present, and occasionally there are tools and other valuable items. What is present at a Station depends in large part on the gratitude felt by the people who have sheltered there. Consequently, most Stations have little beyond a docking port, the habitat, and a few weeks of food, while there are two or three which have lavish accommodations, tools and spare parts for making simple repairs, and functioning communications gear. Stations in especially remote systems usually have larger food stores, and some even have Hypersleep Pods.
Unless a crew is lucky enough to find one of these rarities, they have nothing to look forward to but drab accommodations, short rations, and a long wait. This wait is greatly reduced if the Station is in an inhabited or well-traveled system. Signaling craft which pass through the system is easy if the Communications gear olthe ship is still functioning; if not, the Station has an Emergency Beacon which can be activated and which will notify passing vessels that there are travellers in need on the Station.
When assistance comes, the stranded party will have standard transportation fees charged to the ship's owner. If the owner does not salvage the vessel within 7 years, it is fair game for salvage by the first group to claim it.
Gorman: "Okay, Ferro. Set down on the landing grid. Immediate dustoff on my clear, then stay on station." Aliens. 20th Century Fox. 1986. Movie.
Stinger-class cruiser
|
|
|
|---|
A type of cruiser introduced in the middle of the 22nd century. The stripped wreckage of a Stinger-class cruiser, the Climacus, was discovered on Soulages by the survivors from C-3 L/M in 2232.
USS Sulaco
|
|
|
The Sulaco, the 13th ship of the series and fitted with the “block 74” revision by 2179, is an almost completely automated military space transport. It could carry up to 20,000 tons of cargo, with up to eight UD4L Cheyenne dropships and has sufficient life support capabilities for 90 crew and passengers (with up to 2,000 possible in hibernation for short term trips). It only requires one synthetic Executive Officer to perform basic navigation duties such as orbital insertion.
The basic shape was allegedly based on a submarine, and described as a 'gun in space' due to the elongated form resembling the pulse rifles. Its design was also a a combination of a F-4 Phantom II and AH-1 Cobra.
The main deck, located on the underside of the ship, due to the dropships being ‘dropped’ out of a lower airlock, houses the hypersleep chamber, and locker room. The showers and galley are adjacent to the hypersleep chamber. The hangar bay, having at least two airlocks, is on the same deck. Adjacent to the hangar bay are equipment bays containing powerloaders, armaments and supplies for the dropships and APCs (missiles and supplies are only loaded into the dropships and APC immediately prior to a mission). Also directly adjacent to the hangar bay is a ready room for the troops. This room contains all the marines weapons and equipment, plus lockers containing the marines personal effects.
During a combat situation in orbit of Linna 349, the Sulaco was severely damaged by ASAT missiles and was later involved in a fatal docking accident at Gateway Station that cost five people their lives.
In 2179, the Sulaco was used for transporting USCM tasked with investigating the communication breakdown with Hadley's Hope on LV-426. The ship was loaded at Gateway Station and departed from there to reach its destination in three weeks' time. The Sulaco carried two UD-4 Cheyenne utility dropships for landing the team on the planet, of which one was used for initial deployment. After encountering kiande amedha in Hadley's Hope, the Sulaco was remote-accessed and the second dropship was called down for evacuating the survivors after the first dropship had been destroyed. The ship received the dropship with the last survivors who had barely escaped Hadley's Hope's destruction (Ellen Ripley, a colonist named Newt, Marine Dwayne Hicks, and the android Bishop), and its docking bay was the site of the final battle against the Queen that had been able to reach the Sulaco as a stowaway. After the creature had been flushed out of the airlock, the passengers set the Sulaco on course back to Earth and entered hypersleep However, a fire aboard the Sulaco leads to the survivors' cryogenic sleep tubes being launched from the ship.
In the aftermath of Hadley's Hope's nuking, Weyland-Yutani were the first faction to locate the Sulaco. A Company vessel – the Legato, which just had left LV-426 with a cargo of Ovomorphs retrieved from the Derelict – was sent to the site in order to board the military vessel and eliminate all evidence pointing to Weyland-Yutani's involvement in the events in Hadley's Hope. After the arrival, an Umbilical link was established between the Legato and the Sulaco, and Company scientists and PMCs began their investigation. In the meantime, the UPP had also learned of the ship's whereabouts and sent a small covert ops, which had managed to secretly infiltrate the vessel and retrieve data from the damaged Bishop synthetic. However, a kiande amedha outbreak occurred aboard the Legato, which quickly spilled over to the Sulaco and decimated both the Weyland-Yutani PMCs and the UPP team. Only one UPP member named Eva survived and went into hiding.
Meanwhile, the Sulaco had reached Fiorina 161. Stone and Turk, two colonists who had escaped from the Legato, awoke Corporal Hicks from cryosleep, only to be ambushed by Weyland-Yutani PMCs. During the ensuing fight, Turk got trapped inside Hicks' cryotube, and a ricochet hit the Facehugger on Ripley's face, causing an electrical fire that prompted the ship's computer to launch the remaining cryotubes aboard their EEVs, which set course to Fiorina 161. As Stone and Hicks had no chance to send a distress call from the Sulaco itself, the two hijacked a Service Skiff and traveled to Fiorina 161 to use the penal colony's comm array.
The Sulaco was temporarily declared lost, but was eventually located drifting near Gamma Leporis by Space Command at O'Niell Station, and a USCM team was sent to investigate aboard the sister ship Sephora. Charlie Squad was deployed in three fire teams tasked with securing the command center, retrieving the flight recorder and locating a life signal on board which had been detected by an advance team. Upon discovering the kiande amedha population on the Sulaco, Fire Team Fox proceeded into the Hive, killed the Queen and captured the source of the life signal, which turned out to be Eva. The kiande amedha presence was reported to USCM headquarters, which ordered the Sephora to leave the Sulaco to engage the UPP on LV-426.
The Sulaco itself was left in the hands of contracted workers sent by Weyland-Yutani, mainly consisting of synthetics and led by a representative named Sean Davis. Weyland-Yutani used the ship to receive a cargo of Ovomorphs and left for the Mars moon of Phobos, where Weyland-Yutani scientists would take over the Ovomorphs. During the flight, the cargo containers were breached, and a second infestation emerged on the Sulaco. USCM forces again killed the Queen by blowing it out of the ventral airlock and subsequently left for Phobos to investigate. When the marines returned to the Sulaco, open hostilities emerged between the USCM and Weyland-Yutani. Weyland-Yutani had now set course for Mars where powerful allies waited to secure the kiande amedha specimens aboard. The USCM made two unsuccessful attempts to prevent the ship from reaching its destination, first trying to self-destruct the ship by deactivating the cooling system, then by attempting crash the Sulaco into the surface of Mars. Both plans were thwarted by Davis, who had activated several overrides, giving him control over vital systems of the ship. During the final confrontation between the marines and the Empress, a large explosion ruptured the hull of the Sulaco. After the creature had been killed, the USCM forces retreated, and the Sulaco was left drifting into deep space near Mars, its course altered by the explosion.
Shortly after, Weyland-Yutani found the Sulaco and sent a contingent of PMCs, who reclaimed the ship. Company Scientists set up research posts to observe the remaining kiande amedha population, an operation which was dubbed Project Ilithyia. Some time later, the Sulaco was relocated to the orbit of LV-426 to assist in the investigation of the Derelict. However, on December 14, 2179, the Sephora returned to the Sulaco with a new crew to perform a second investigation. Soon, the USCM marines came into conflict with both the kiande amedha and the Weyland-Yutani PMCs aboard the Sulaco. The mercenaries of the Company proceeded to attack the Sephora with the Sulaco's weapon systems, to which the Sephora responded in kind. Taking damage, the Sephora marines were eventually forced to evacuate to the Sulaco. A group of marines succeeded in reclaiming the bridge and disengaged the weapon systems of the Sulaco, but it came too late to save the Sephora from destruction. Due to the punishment dealt by the Sephora and the subsequent collision with its debris, the Sulaco was damaged beyond repair as well. As the USCM troops made their escape to LV-426, both the Sulaco and the Sephora were caught by the world's gravity well and crashed on the surface, resulting in their definite destruction.
USS Sulaco (Alternate)
|
The Conestoga-class space transport USS Sulaco is on its return journey from LV-426. Due to a navigational error, the ship drifts into an area of space controlled by the Union of Progressive Peoples that is engaged in an ongoing cold war and arms race with the United Americas.
A UPP interceptor lands on the USS Sulaco. Three commandos board the USS Sulaco and are attacked by a Facehugger that has apparently grown from Kiande Amedha genetic material deposited inside Bishop's severed torso. The victim and the Facehugger are killed and flushed into space. Before leaving, the UPP personnel recover Bishop's remains.
Some time later, the USS Sulaco docks at the space station Anchorpoint, where it is met by a team of Colonial Marines and scientists, including a science technician named Tully. They board the ship and are attacked by two kiande amedha in the hypersleep bay. The creatures kill two of the Marines before they are incinerated with a flamethrower, and in the process Ripley's cryotube is badly damaged by flame. She survives, but is plunged into a coma. Newt and Corporal Hicks both survive unharmed.
Additional Kiande Amedha genetic material is recovered from Bishop's severed legs in the USS Sulaco's hangar bay, and Tully and his team secretly begin experimenting on it, under orders from Weyland-Yutani representatives Fox and Welles. Soon after, Newt leaves Anchorpoint aboard a decontaminated USS Sulaco, returning to Earth to live with her grandparents.
Later, during a briefing between the senior staff into the incident, it is revealed that some of the material recovered from Bishop's legs has been sent on to Earth aboard the USS Sulaco.
T
Tanker WYT/116
|
|
|
|---|
- Tranker Ship
One of the ships that brings supplies to Moloch Island Prison.
Thanatos
|
|
|---|
The Thanatos was a huge vessel that spanned a length of over four kilometers, dwarfing even military ships such as the Conestoga-class transport. The Thanatos was destroyed when the USCM team involved set the self-destruct mechanism after all survivors had been evacuated.
MSV-7750 Torrens
|
|
|---|
- Class: M-class starship
- Owner / Captain: Diane Verlaine
- Navigator/Comm Officer: William Connor
- Decks: Two
- Crew Two
- Equipment: Interstellar communications antenna. Long haul hypersleep chamber. Commercial passenger/cargo ships retrofitted from a tow rig. Retains operational heavy duty tow umbilical.
Outbound and return transportation for Weyland-Yutani retrieval team to Sevastopol station.
Team consists of three W-Y employees: Samuels, Christopher. Ripley, Amanda. Taylor, Nina.
Tremolino
|
|
|
|---|
July 21 2114 – 3 December 2118: Dallas had earned enough money to buy his own ship, the civilian cargo vessel Tremolino. Freelances cargo and transport ops for Weyland-Yutani throughout the Outer Rim Territories, [Flight Status C].
December 7 2119: Tremolino decommissioned and its crew disbanded for unknown reasons.
Prisoner Transport Ship
|
|
|
|---|
- Transport Ship MDT/67
This ship transported prisoners from Gateway Station to Moloch Island Prison.
T-2 Troop Ship
|
|
|
|---|
A troop transport vessel used by the USCM during the late 22nd century.
USS Typhoon
|
|
|
|---|
In 2185, the USS Typhoon sets down on an uncharted planet in the Zeta 2 Reticuli system and find large floating lifeforms – as well as Kiande Amedha. Narrowly escaping, navigator London smuggles a small Ovomorph on board – which eventually hatches.
U
Umbilical
|
|
|---|
A horizontal, sealed docking shaft that is used to connect two starships in space for direct personnel and small cargo transfer. Features artificial gravity and a telescope structure that enables the Umbilical to be extended over its normal length as needed.
In 2179, the crew of the Weyland-Yutani science vessel Legato connected to the Sulaco using an Umbilical. Soon after, a kiande amedha outbreak occurred aboard the Legato. The Umbilical was still attached to the Sulaco at the time and enabled the creatures to enter the military transport and spill the infestation to the other vessel. A colonist aboard the Legato then intended to activate the self-destruct of the science vessel, which would obliterate both ships as they were still linked by the Umbilicial. The Umbilical was destroyed by Hicks and Stone using the plasma weapon of the Sulaco, mere seconds before the Legato exploded.
Several weeks later, the Sephora used an Umbilical to deploy marines on the USS Sulaco in the beginning stages of the events at Origin facility. As Winter passed through the Umbilical, an explosion aboard the Sulaco critically damaged it, causing the structure to leak atmosphere. Knowing that the Umbilical would collapse soon, Winter hurried to complete its objective. He arrived back in time with another marine named Keyes in order to bring the flight recorder of the Sulaco back aboard the Sephora. However, while traversing the Umbilical, Keyes gave birth to a Chestburster. In his death throes, Keyes detonated a grenade, destroying the Umbilical and severing the connection between the two ships.
UPP Interceptor
|
|
|
|---|
The Conestoga-class space transport USS Sulaco is on its return journey from LV-426. Due to a navigational error, the ship drifts into an area of space controlled by the Union of Progressive Peoples that is engaged in an ongoing cold war and arms race with the United Americas.
A UPP interceptor lands on the USS Sulaco. Three commandos board the USS Sulaco and are attacked by a Facehugger that has apparently grown from Kiande Amedha genetic material deposited inside Bishop's severed torso. The victim and the Facehugger are killed and flushed into space. Before leaving, the UPP personnel recover Bishop's remains.
V
H/K Vengeance
|
|
|---|
In 2225, the Vengeance carried a Berserker Unit - a ragtag collection of cons who have shortened their incarnation time by debugging by clearing out Kiande Amedha nests throughout space.
USS Verloc
|
|
|---|
- Bio Data: Human male. Brown hair.
- Affiliation: USCM
Corporal Harrisson was sent to investigate the kiande amedha outbreak on LV-1201. After he arrived on the USS Verloc, he got separated from the other Marines. He kills a number of kiande amedha, a Predalien and a Praetorian and helped save several teammates throughout several kiande amedha Hives. In the end, he successfully killed a kiande amedha Queen with a minigun inside an Engineer structure and escaped the planet alive on a dropship with other surviving marines.
Vider
|
|
|
|---|
April 28 2113 – September 9 2113: Dallas smuggles weapons and medical supplies into the Solomons on civilian cargo vessel The Vider, under Captain Joshua.
Vidar
|
|
|---|
The crew of the Vidar are slaughtered on Chione by local colonists, under the influence of an extra terrestrial entity. Synthetic David Sereda tries to assist them when they try to escape the kiande amedha also infesting the planet.
Vizna
|
|
|---|
The Vinza travels to Rosamund 6 to pick up an observation team prior to the planet being terraformed, and find they want to stay to continue studying the Kiande Amedha infesting the planet.
W
Wanderer
|
|
|---|
"In space, no one can hear you squeal."
Stitch and his band of space pirates have designs on looting the wreckage of the crashed ore tug Wanderer before the rightful owners can arrive to salvage the valuable cargo. The problem: a nest of Kiande Amedha has set up housekeeping near the wrecked tug. Stitch's solution: a cute little pig carrying a low-yield nuke wired to a remote detonator.
Weyland-Yutani Research Frigate
|
|
|---|
- Manufactured by: Weyland-Yutani
A science vessel similar in general design to a Conestoga-class military transport, the Weyland-Yutani Research Frigate spanned a length of roughly 400 meters and was able to land on a planetary surface.
In 2179, one such ship was temporarily stationed at the Weyland-Yutani research station surrounding the Derelict codenamed “Origin facility”. The vessel served as the personal headquarters of Michael Weyland, who acted as the facility's chief observer. Corporal Dwayne Hicks and colonist Samwell Stone were brought to the ship, where Weyland personally interrogated the prisoners until they managed toe scape by using one of the frigate's EEVs.
The Research Frigate was the last ship to leave the planet as part of Weyland-Yutani's evacuation of the installation during the final stages of the events at Origin facility. Michael Weyland was also present aboard the frigate when it departed. A USCM strike force attempted to infiltrate the ship and use it to extract their own people, but the vessel managed to launch just seconds before their arrival. However, USCM soldiers were able to enter the vessel by crashing into its cargo bay aboard a Cheyenne dropship. After defeating a Queen that had boarded the ship as a stowaway, the marines took over the vessel, killing Michael Weyland and returning to LV-426's surface to extract the rest of the Colonial Marines.