Wraith Hive-Ship

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Wraith Hive-Ship

Hive-Ships in orbit of Lantea
First appearance "Rising"
Affiliation Wraith
General Characteristics
Fighters Wraith Darts
Armaments Pulsed Energy Weapons
Defences Organic Armored Hull
Beaming Jammer
Propulsion Sublight Engines
Hyperdrive

A Wraith Hive-Ship is a fictional type of organic spacecraft in the science fiction television series Stargate Atlantis.

Contents

[edit] Overview

The Hive-ship is a large Wraith mothership, home to an untold number of Wraith who hibernate for centuries at a time[1] so that the humans in the Pegasus Galaxy have time to replenish themselves. The large ships are capable of interstellar travel[2] and landing on the surface of a planet[1][3]. They also have an enormous amount of firepower[4] and are protected by an organic armored hull which can regenerate itself[5].

The first Hive-Ship encountered by the Atlantis team was concealed beneath the surface of their home world - so much so that they did not realize it was a ship at all. It sat undisturbed on the surface for so long that tall trees grew on its dorsal surface. Only the Keeper and a small number of Wraith warriors were on guard to defend the sleeping race; after the Keeper was killed, the sleeping creatures began to awaken[1].

Each Hive-Ship functions like a carrier, accompanied by a huge number of Wraith darts and sometimes three Wraith cruisers[6].

[edit] Interior

The hangar bay of a Hive-Ship.
The hangar bay of a Hive-Ship.

The ships appear to have a bridge with three to four consoles present that are controlled telepathically by the Wraith (or someone with Wraith DNA like Teyla Emmagan) in the same way that the Puddle Jumpers can only be controlled by someone with the ATA Gene[7]. Deeper inside the craft lies a "Royal chamber" where the leader of the Hive-Ship sits[8][9][10]. A holographic system generates a misty screen in front of the throne to allow the Wraith a view of events[10].

The Hive-Ship contains an untold number of hibernation pods which are used by the Wraith for sleeping over centuries[1]. The ships also contain several holding cells for individuals waiting to be dealt by the Wraith. These cells are also controlled telepathically[1][4]. Another method of holding prisoners are a number of cocoon alcoves which are used to store humans for later feeding[5]. The alcoves use tentacle and spider-web like substances to hold the prisoners and can preserve people and prevent them from dying which is used only once on Lt. Ford who suffers from enzyme withdrawal[9].

One of the largest parts of the Hive-Ship is the hangar bay in which all the Wraith Darts are stored. The bays have a large number of honeycomb-like openings in the walls through which the Darts fly when they enter or leave the ship[8][4].

[edit] Technology

[edit] Offensive and Defensive Systems

Two Hive-Ships open fire on one another.
Two Hive-Ships open fire on one another.

A Wraith Hive-Ship has a large number of weapon ports stationed across the exterior of the ship. These ports rapidly fire blue energy pulses which are powerful enough to destroy another Hive-Ship after several hits[4]; working in concert with each other, Hive-Ships are able to bring down the Asgard designed shields of the Daedalus in less than an hour. The ship does not appear to have any point defence weapons to fight off smaller ships such as F-302s. However, the Wraith Dart has been shown to defend the hive from incoming fire[11].

After the Earth ship Daedalus used Asgard beams to transport nuclear warheads aboard three Hive-Ships, the Wraith reimplemented a jamming technology which prevented beaming objects either on or off a ship[11].

The Lagrangian satellite destroys a Hive-Ship.
The Lagrangian satellite destroys a Hive-Ship.

Significantly, the Hive-Ship differs from other known combat vessels of comparable size due to the fact that they do not have energy shields for defence during combat, something previously not encountered amongst ships constructed by technologically advanced alien races. Instead, they rely on an organic armoured hull which allows the ship a limited ability to repair itself (literally "healing" the damage). The hull and armour of the ships are shown to be able to withstand a direct hit from Mark III tactical naqahdah enhanced nuclear weapons, although the ship suffered serious damage and was rendered largely inoperable, but can only survive 3 hits from Asgard plasma beam weapons. This armour is also affected by hyperspace radiation which forces the ships to leave hyperspace after some time so that the hull can repair itself[5].

[edit] Propulsion

Due to the large size of a Hive-Ship, it is not as maneuverable as a Daedalus-class battlecruiser or Goa'uld Ha'tak class vessel[11]. However, as seen on "The Siege, Part 3" they are able to alter course to intercept ships quickly. It is also known that they can enter the atmosphere of a planet and break orbit when needed[5].

Like other races the Wraith Hive-Ships use hyperdrives for FTL travel. Their hyperdrives are however not as efficient as that used by other races, such as the Asgard [11]. Instead they have to travel in a series of jumps and, depending on the distance, must take breaks to allow the organic hull to recover from the effects of hyperspace radiation[7]. The Wraith Hive-Ships also do not have intergalactic hyperdrive capability but can be outfitted if the species gets access to the knowledge which is seen when the Wraith gain access to Ancient intergalactic hyperdrive technology by stealing the Aurora mission reports by hacking into Atlantis's central computer, after the Wraith falsely befriend them.

[edit] Size

Wraith Hive-ships are approximatly 11 kilometers long and 7 kilometers width. Also they appear to be many hundreds of meters high and seen by the lights there are a lot of rooms. Evidence throughout the serie suggest that a hive can carry thousands, maybe even millions.

The blue/green blob is the Daedalus, within a Hive.
The blue/green blob is the Daedalus, within a Hive.

[edit] Destroyed Wraith Hive-Ship

The Atlantis team has destroyed 14 Hive Ships since coming to Atlantis. It is unknown how many Hive ships the Asurans destroyed when they were attacking the Wraith but one was destroyed in Be All My Sins Remember'd. According to a Wraith flight computer Atlantis captured from the Genii, there were originally at least 60 Active Wraith Hive-Ships in the galaxy

  • Siege Pt. 1 - 1 Hive ship destroyed by reactivation of Lantian satellite weapon.
  • Siege Pt. 3 - 4 hive ships destroyed. One via Puddle Jumper and 3 from transport.
  • The Hive - 2 Hive ships destroy each other after one of the Queens is murdered.
  • No Man's Land - 1 hive ship is destroyed by the Orion.
  • Misbegotten - 1 hive ship destroyed by another hive ship.
  • Pegasus Project - 1 hive ship destroyed.
  • The Seer - 2 hives destroy each other.
  • Be All My Sin's Remember'd - 1 hive ship destroyed.
  • Spoils of War - 1 hive ship destroyed.

In the season 4 finale of Stargate Atlantis the Phoenix is seen destroying one hive ship with Asgard beam weapons and three more were destroyed when the Phoenix flew into one of them resulting in the other two blowing up, however this was an alternate timeline. Michael's Hive-Ship also destroyed two other hives that were weakened in battle with each other

[edit] References

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