Orion

Name given to an Ancient warship by Colonel John Sheppard, who deemed the original Ancient name, "Hippaforalkus," unacceptable. The ship lay damaged (likely by the Wraith) in a Taranian bay for thousands of years until a people settled there and began to investigate it, but they were too unsophisticated to discern all of its wonders. It remained virtually inoperable until representatives of the Atlantis expedition arrived and determined it could be salvaged to fight the Wraith again.

When Taranis's seismic activity went critical the remainder of the Taranian population were evacuated to the ship, now named Orion. Dr. Rodney McKay repaired the shields to withstand 4.1 seconds of stress, and fixed the hyperdrive to exit the bay without having to fly through a ceiling of lava. Orion emerged in Taranian orbit, just as the super-volcano exploded below.

Chancellor Lycus of the Taranians remained convinced that the Atlanteans had rigged a dramatic event to rid the ship of Taranian access, but he eventually realized this was not the case and granted them usage of the craft in exchange for helping his people resettle. With nearly a month of repairs completed the Orion stood ready with the Daedalus to defend Atlantis from a Wraith hive ship. It was later destroyed in battle with the Wraith.

Hippaforalkus had originally been named in honor of an Ancient military general.

DETAILS

USED BY - Lanteans
FIRST APPEARED - Inferno

KEY EPISODES

Inferno - The Ancient warship Hippaforalkus is discovered in a Taranian storage bay, and her repairs are soon underway.
Allies - Colonel Sheppard commands the Orion as a single hive ship enters Lantean orbit.
No Man's Land - Major Lorne commands the Orion when it and the Daedalus go after a Wraith hive headed for Earth, but the Ancient vessel is destroyed in the fight.