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The Berzerker drones[1] are robotic ships created by an unknown alien race in the second galaxy visited by the Destiny expedition. They are deployed by the hundreds from Control Ships.

Overview[]

The drones are unmanned, highly- agile attack craft. Controlled through a larger Control Ship, their sole purpose is to eradicate any technology other than their own. They accomplish this by swarming their target from every angle, relying on sheer numbers to overwhelm the target's defenses. Though the drones are relatively simple in their attack patterns, they are capable of basic tactical reasoning. They will alter their attack patterns to target the more vulnerable areas of a ship, divide into groups to engage multiple targets, and defend their Control Ship against threats which could potentially damage it. They adapt quickly to the strategies and technology of their current enemy: after only one major encounter with Destiny, they learned to detect the activation of the Stargates in order to track the ship's location.

There seems to be three distinct models of drones. Two are roughly the size of the Ancient shuttle, while the third is small enough to be stored inside the shuttle and lifted by a small group of humans. The drones possess a forward-firing energy weapon. Though not powerful enough to penetrate the shields of the Ancient shuttle, their numbers allow them to overcome Destiny's shields within minutes. One shot was sufficient to destroy a large section of a Destiny-model Stargate, but this may be indicative of the gate's more primitive design than the power of weapon itself, in addition to unknown circumstances. The drones themselves are fairly fragile, able to be taken down with a single shot from one of Destiny's turret weapons or sustained fire from an automatic rifle. (SGU: "Resurgence", "Deliverance", "Common Descent", "Blockade")

Berzerker drone 5

Drone floating in atmosphere

Like most similar spacecrafts, they are capable of operating in both atmosphere and the vacuum of space. Not only do they possess advanced sensors to detect radio signals or Stargate activation, but they also use spotlights and can detect sound. If needed, they can levitate a few meters above ground, moving very slow or not moving at all. (SGU: "Blockade")

History[]

The Ursini have been at war with the drones for some time after accidentally stumbling upon them and awakening them. The Destiny expedition became involved in this war when they investigated the site of one of the battles between the two. The Ursini piloting the derelict Seed ship came to their rescue and enlisted Destiny's aid in destroying the Control Ship. Though successful, the Ursini learned that their colony had been destroyed by a second group of drones, which traced the signal back to Destiny. Prior to the battle, the expedition captured one of the inactive drones to study it. They managed to access its targeting data and reprogram the rest of the inactive drones to target the new wave, allowing them to escape. The Ursini sacrificed themselves to the drones to buy the time necessary to accomplish this. (SGU: "Resurgence", "Deliverance")

Sometime later, Destiny was attacked by a small cluster of drones. The ship was then pursued by a Control Ship before it managed to escape. Following the discovery of the Novans on one of their colonies, the drones attacked the Destiny and the colony simultaneously, revealing that they were tracking active Stargates. The gate was rendered inoperative in the attack on the planet, forcing the ship to evacuate the colony via the shuttles. (SGU: "Common Descent")

More than two weeks later, Destiny discovered that the drones were blockading the stars they used to recharge, forcing them to recharge in a Blue giant. During this operation, the crew was evacuated to another of the Novan colonies. The colony showed evidence of being destroyed, which was revealed to have been done by drones. There were at least two drones in the immediate vicinity of the gate, both of which were destroyed. A Control Ship approached the site where the gate was, but the crew had already retreated back to Destiny. (SGU: "Blockade")

After Dr. Nicholas Rush and Eli Wallace discovered the drones and Control Ships were lying in wait at every world with a Stargate, the expedition crew hatched a plan in order to resupply. The ship dropped out of FTL in close proximity to a Control Ship, striking it briefly. Drones attacked the Destiny only to discover the crew had tuned the shields to block their weapons fire. In an effort to protect their Control Ship, the drones started to ram into the hull. The Control Ship was destroyed before major damage was incurred. Unfortunately, the planet proved lacking in supplies. Eli concluded that they need to ignore the drones and skip the galaxy, sleeping off the rest of the journey in stasis pods. Unfortunately, they needed materials to repair the last eight pods. Dr. Lisa Park presented her plan of using the shuttle as bait to buy them time to get the materials needed from the Planet to which Eli suggested they use the shuttle as a bomb and destroy the ship. The plan succeeded and the materials were gathered. With the crew in stasis, the Destiny began its three-year journey out of the galaxy and onto the next. (SGU: "Gauntlet")

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