Wraith Hive-Ship

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

Overview

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

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.

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

Interior

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. Deeper inside the craft lies a "Royal chamber" where the leader of the Hive-Ship sits. A holographic system generates a misty screen in front of The Throne to allow the Wraith an on-look of events.

The Hive-Ship contains an untold number of hibernation pods which are used by the Wraith for sleeping over centuries. The ships also contain several holding cells for individuals waiting to be dealt by the Wraith. These cells are also controlled telepathically. Another mean of holding prisoners are an untold number of cocoon alcoves which are used to store humans for later feeding. 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.

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.

Technology

Offensive and defensive systems

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; working in concert with each other, Hive-Ships are able to bring down the Asgard designed shields of the Daedalus in less than a minute. 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.

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

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. 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.

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 . 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. 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 Asgard intergalactic hyperdrive technology by stealing the technology by hacking into Atlantis's central computer, after the Wraith falsely befriend them.

Size

Wraith Hive-Ships are among the largest known ships in the Stargate universe. Hive-Ships are at least 13 times larger than Earth's Daedalus class battlecruisers. It is unknown precisely how many Wraith each hive ship can carry, but the number is well into the millions.

Trivia

The Humans from Earth have destroyed 13 Hive Ships since coming to Atlantis.

References

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