Destiny

"The design is clearly Ancient, in the truest sense of the word. Launched hundreds of thousands of years ago. Faster than light, yet not through hyperspace. Who knows how far it's traveled."

- Nicholas Rush

Destiny is a ship in the Ancient fleet, launched originally from Earth, constructed and launched tens of millions of years ago. The Ancients launched several automated ships prior to Destiny, each with the purpose of constructing and seeding Stargates throughout the numerous galaxies they crossed, with Destiny itself following in their path to explore those planets. After beginning this process, the Ancients initially planned to wait until the ship reached a sufficient distance from Earth to begin to inhabit it and explore the universe. However, because of other endeavors, such as ascension, they never followed through on the plan. Because of this, Destiny has continued on a pre-programmed path on its journey throughout the stars, alone, for millions of years until the arrival of the Tau'ri in 2009. Initially starting from the Milky Way, Destiny has crossed many galaxies, including Pegasus.

Specifications
"It is spectacular, isn't it?"

- David Telford

Destiny itself is relatively flat and triangular in shape. The left and right sides are markedly concave, while the aft portion of the ship is convexly rounded. The ship is very long and becomes more narrow towards the bow. The surface of the ship is covered with layers of textural elements, including a large number of double-barreled weapon turrets.

Some doors in Destiny's interior are accompanied by a small control panel, much like Atlantis has panels containing control crystals that control some of the doors there. The small blue light on a door panel indicates it is on automatic. Beneath that, the amber and red lights indicate whether the door is locked or unlocked, respectively. Below the large round button, along the bottom of the panel, are eight small buttons with ancient writing on them that allow for manual overrides or door code changes.

Destiny is capable of faster than light travel but not by means of hyperdrive engines. Whether it is hyperspace capable or not is yet to be known. The main FTL drive spans the full rear of the ship.

It predates the ATA Gene security feature featured in the outposts and in Lantean technology, instead having an incredibly complex master code that uses an advanced Ancient DNA sequence.

History
"This ship could be the most important discovery mankind has made since the Stargate itself."

- Nicholas Rush

Some time in an distant past, the Ancients launched several automated ships to explore the universe, before sending Destiny, which was also automated. It was the Alterans' intention to further their knowledge of other galaxies, but they abandoned the project upon ascension. Nonetheless, the Destiny continued to go from planet to planet, system to system, galaxy to galaxy for millions of years.

Sometime during its journey, Destiny was heavily damaged and sections of the ship have become exposed to the vacuum of space. The extent of the damage has led the crew to speculate it came under attack. There is some shielding in place, holding in atmosphere, however bulkheads were automatically closed and locked, as the shields were still siphoning air.

Early 2009, the personnel of the Icarus project managed to unlock the Stargates ninth chevron. However the Icarus Base they were reside in came under attack by an force of Ha'tak of Lucian Alliance and they were force to evacuate through the gate to the Destiny. When the Tau'ri arrived, much of the ship was either damaged or inaccessible. The ships power level and oxygen level were also running on reserves. They continue to cautiously explore the ship, marking bulkheads that lead to damaged sections of the ship by drawing an X on them in white chalk.

Soon after, Destiny was attacked by Blue alien, who (unbeknownst to the Expedition), had been aboard Destiny prior to their arrival, and left shortly after they returned from the desert planet. The expedition soon discovered that There was a tracking device in a Blue alien fighter which they were able to remove. The civilian members of the Destiny Expedition formed a Mutiny on Destiny. During this time the Blue Aliens returned with 3 Blue alien motherships which bombarded Destiny's shields. Everett Young was eventually able to put down the mutiny, before finding that Nicholas Rush had a tracking device implanted inside him, which they were able to remove. Destiny was able to jump into FTL before its shields collapsed.

Sometime later, 'Destiny' was pulled out of FTL by the gravity well of an uncharted star. The age and location of the star did not correspond to the database created by Stargate seeding ships. The planet and the star were presumably created by a advance race or a higher force. The ship's navigational computer charted and executed a course around the star to put it back on course with minimal use of the ship's engines, taking a month to do so. With the planet habitable and safe the expedition decided to send a group of scientist and military personnel to refresh the supplies aboard the ship. A conflict arises with some of the members wanting to stay. With the the other Ancient shuttle repaired, Everett Young decided to leave it for those who choose to stay in exchange for all military personnel. However, the situation was resolved and the damaged shuttle was left on the planet as it was incapable of achieving orbit.

Technology
"This ship... It's a source of untold power? No, no, not literally. It's more to do with what it's doing. The information it's capable of gathering."

- Eli Wallace and Nicholas Rush

The Destiny has a great deal of advanced technology at her disposal, ranging from the Stargate and Shuttles, to Energy weapons, the FTL engine and the all-important Energy shields.

Power generation
"The ship is powered by the stars themselves. Solar powered - quite literally. There is no other explanation."

- Nicholas Rush

Destiny is capable of absorbing and utilizing solar energy directly from stars. With shields active, the ship itself is able to fly into the lower atmosphere of a star, during which time a portion of the star's energy is collected and stored, making Destiny truly solar powered. At the time of the Destiny Expedition's arrival, power levels were critically low and so this method was soon initiated by the ship automatically. The IOA wanted to use that method, and channel all the collecting power to the Stargate in an attempt to dial Earth. However, after Nicholas Rush "sabotaged" the IOA plan; Eli Wallace proved later that this plan could have been far more destructive then they thought.

Shields
"They're gonna realise they can't get past the shields and they're gonna give up."

- Nicholas Rush

Destiny possesses a yellow energy shielding system which may be localized to retain the atmosphere in damaged parts of the ships. However, shield strength is dependent on power levels and the number of localized shields currently active. Destiny's shields are capable of resisting the intense heat and turbulence of a star's corona, using only reserve power, to the point where neither is at all noticeable to anyone inside. They were rapidly depleted by energy weapons during a battle with the blue aliens, though this is most likely due to a power transfer problem rather than a less advanced design as damage to defensive systems is very significant and most of the ship is not operational. Both shields and weapons might get their power from the same source at the moment due to damaged relays, and so the ship may have automatically diverted more power to one and less to the other to keep it balanced to allow both to run at the same time.

Weapons
"That's the way it's been for a long time, Eli. They attack, they try and get on board, the ship's automated defences stop ‘em."

- Nicholas Rush

Destiny possesses a vast array of yellow energy weapons, which is comprised of a large number of double-barreled weapon turrets located all along the ship's hull. These turrets appear to be anti-fighter weapons, capable of rapid-fire and tracking to destroy smaller ships. Given enough time and under the right circumstances, they are capable of greatly diminishing Destiny's power reserves. The weapons draw power from the shields while active, diminishing defense in favor of offense. However this could be because most of the ship is not operational. So it might not be a power problem but a power transfer problem.

Destiny is also equipped with three larger energy cannons located on the underside of the hull. Capable of significantly stronger blasts than her standard weapons, these cannons are designed for use against larger vessels such as motherships. Like the standard weapons, Destiny's energy cannons run the risk of depleting the ship's power reserves, and can even cause the weapons systems to overload if used in excess, which can destroy the ship. This is most likely due to the damage the ship has taken over its journey.

FTL Engine
"Faster than light, yet not through hyperspace."

- Nicholas Rush

Destiny's Faster-Than-Light engine, or FTL engine, is capable of faster-than-light travel without entering hyperspace. An incoming wormhole to the ship's Stargate will trigger the drive to temporarily shut down, enabling the gate to connect. Destiny is known to have twelve individual FTL engine units. When entering and exiting FTL, it disrupts the Long Range Communication Device temporarily. Unexpected anomalies, such as the gravitational pull from an uncharted star, can cause Destiny to drop out of FTL; but the automated navigational systems can adjust the Destiny's course usings sublight engines to prevent a collision and get back on course to engage FTL again once clear. All of this seems to suggest that Destiny's FTL engines are not as efficient as hyperdrive engines.

Stargate
"Isn't it something? Rush figures that this gate predates all the others we know of, like a prototype. It's the only way we're ever going to get home."

- Eli Wallace

The Stargate aboard the Destiny is a different variant design from the Stargates seen in the Milky Way and Pegasus galaxies. According to Dr. Nicholas Rush, the Stargate aboard Destiny is among the first of the Stargates ever created. Furthermore, the Stargate aboard the Destiny is the same design as those constructed and distributed by Stargate seeding ships across the universe.

Because the entirety of the Destiny gate spins rather than just the inner ring, the chevrons spin as well and therefore the addresses do not line up with the chevrons to lock. The chevrons merely function as indicators, lighting upon powering of the gate. Instead, the gate spins clockwise until the first glyph is positioned right underneath the Gate bearing, at the topmost position. The Gate then changes direction, spinning counter-clockwise until the the next glyph is locked. This alternating process is repeated until the point-of-origin glyph is locked and the wormhole forms. The orb at the end of the bearing lights up briefly as each address glyph on the Gate locks directly below it. Once the wormhole is formed, the gate bearing remains lit while the gate is active, as does a final chevron in the floor. The wormhole texture of this gate type also appears different, being silvery and darker at the edges. As the wormhole disengages and the Stargate shuts down, all lights turn off at the same time. This is followed by a several second blast of CO2 from vents on either side of the gate.

Locations

 * Cargo Hold
 * Communication lab
 * Control interface room
 * Crew quarters
 * Gate room
 * Hydroponics lab
 * Infirmary
 * Kino room
 * Mess hall
 * Nexus room
 * Observation deck
 * Research lab
 * Showers

Technology

 * CO2 scrubber
 * Control interface hub
 * Database
 * Early repository of knowledge
 * Energy shields
 * FTL engine
 * Hubs
 * Jump countdown
 * Kino
 * Dispenser
 * Long-range communication device
 * Stargate
 * Gate bearing
 * Recharger Plate

Crew
"We're going to have to be tough, disciplined. The road may be longer than many of us hoped. We will have to sacrifice, compromise, work together without exceptions. We are going to survive. We are going to make it home. Make no mistake."

- Everett Young

Senior staff

 * Colonel Everett Young (Expedition Leader and Military Commander)
 * Lieutenant Matthew Scott (Temporary Military Commander)
 * Doctor Nicholas Rush (Expedition Leader and Senior Scientist)
 * IOA Camile Wray (IOA official and Civilian contingent)
 * Lieutenant Tamara Johansen (Chief Medical Officer)