The Crest of the Pathfinder Ship Pegasus was a departure from the first two ship crests and violated the 'Edict of Aesthetics' that stated that all ships should have a 'shared aesthetic' in their identification. Additionally, this crest was adapted into the form of a three dimensional statue bonded to the prow, rather carried as a plaque on the side as was the case with the first two ships.
Pegasus, also known as Pathfinder-3, was the third ship in the Pathfinder series of long-range, multi-generational ships that constituted the vanguard of the Odyssey Project.
Pegasus next to some kind of green planet or something.
Construction[]
Pegasus was constructed over a period of twenty years beginning in AS 7272. Odyssey Project Executive Senior Administrator Goneil Lear supervised the ship’s final construction stages from 7286 until launch. Under her tenure, a minor misalignment of the wingblades was detected and corrected, but through the use of extra shifts and additional resources, the construction schedule was maintained.
Unlike the first two Pathfinders, Pegasus featured an elaborate crest on the ship’s bowhead, depicting a winged horse and stars. This design feature was repeated on Pathfinders 5 and 7. Pathfinders 1, 2, 4 and 6 simply had the name of the ship and unique ship’s insignia depicted on either side of the bow and on the command tower.
The AI that formed the heart of Pegasus’s BrainCore was developed from organic neural cells that formed the Braincore of the ‘Caliph’ probe discovered outside the Sapphire system in AS 7071. A sentient entity, subsequently known as Caliph, arose from these cloned segments. At least four other Pathfinder ships experienced this phenomenon.
Command and Crew[]
- Shipmaster: Prime Commander William Keeler
- Executive Officer: Executive TyroCommander Goneril Lear
- Chief Navigator: Lt. Navigator Eliza Jane Change
- Chief Tactical Officer: Tactical TyroCommander Philip John Miller Redfire
- Chief Systems and Operations Officer: Engineering Lieutenant Cuauhtémoc Ojala
- Chief Science Officer: Lt. Scientist Magnus Morgan
Pegasus carried a total complement of 6,996 at the time of launch.
Worlds Charted[]
Route of Pegasus through the Perseus Quadrant
Pegasus was launched in the Sapphirean Year 7292 and arrived in the Meridian System Colony 18 years later.
- The Meridian Colony was undergoing what the crew described as “remote control alien invasion” by an aggressive artificial intelligence (later determined to have originated with the Teklektetl). Long story short: The intelligence was eradicated with an EM Pulse from the ship’s Nemesis missiles. (Book 01: Meridian )
- In 7318 AS, Pegasus called on the EdenWorld system, which was determined to be an artificial construct.(Book 02: EdenWorld )
- Between AS7308 and AS7325, Pegasus visited the Fiddler’s Green system, the Medea system (obliterated by an aggressive Pathogen), the Bodicea system (invaded by Aurelians), the Hearth system (invaded and destroyed by Aurelians), and then made a return trip Bodicea.(Book 03: Bodicea) arriving in AS7344
- In 7348, Pegasus visited Coriolis colony, which had been conquered and occupied by the Aurelians. In 7360 AS, Pegasus made peaceful contact with Independence colony. In 7367, Pegasus arrived at Winter colony.(Book 04: Winter )
- In 7397 AS, Pegasus discovered an ancient Starlock, a device used by the Commonwealth to colonize the outer galaxy by transporting ships vast distances in space. Between 7397 and 7404, Pegasus charted the lost colonies of Dominia and Ecco 1, which were uninhabited, and the colony of Aurora, which was not. (Book 05: Aurora )
- In AS7404, Pegasus fought a battle against an alien armada in the 12 255 Crux system after coming to the aid of the Pathfinder Ship Lex Keeler. (Book 06: Crucible )
- In AS7415, after returning to the Chapultepec Starlock, Pegasus violated orders and was taken into the Orion Quadrant by that magnificent bastard William Keeler. It arrived at the Starlock Chanticleer, where the crew locked down the station from receiving incoming ships for the next two years.
- In AS7422, Pegasus arrived at the Yronwode System. (Book 07 Yronwode )
- Between AS7424 and 7426, Pegasus charted the lost colonies of Hellfire, and Fallon. (Book 08: Hellfire )
- In AS7429, Pegasus rescued some 8,100 children from Gethsemane colony before it was destroyed by a collision with a rogue planet. (Book 09: Gethsemane ) The ship was badly damaged in the battle that followed and was out of contact with the Perseus sector for the next 200 Sapphirean years. Damage to the ship’s engines led to the ship spending extended time at relativistic velocities, hence the time-disparity between ship-time and objective-time was knocked badly out of whack. During this time, Pegasus charted the colonies of Eventide, (Book 10: Eventide ) Pearl, Cormorant, and Ironheart.
- In AS7691 AS, Pegasus regained contact with the rest of the galaxy when it arrived at the Charlemagne Starlock.(Book 11: Charlemagne )
- In AS7692, Pegasus arrived at Parallax (Pax) colony, and proceeded from there to Earth, arriving in the Earth system late in AS7694.
Other Missions[]
Pegasus stopped at a Waystation sometime around the Sapphirean Year 7338. The Waystations had been set up as resupply and repair stations along the routes charted by the Pathfinders. At this Waystation, the AI had malfunctioned, and attempted to kill the crew.
After extra-legally fleeing the Perseus Quadrant, Pegasus became the first known pathfinder ship to reach the Orion Quadrant. Two years later, the ship encountered the wreck of a Commonwealth Era transport, and fought a space monster to gain access to its Navigational Core. The Navigational Core provided a rudimentary map of the Quadrant, which enabled the crew to find several lost colonies.
Additional History[]
The Original Captain of Pegasus was Prime Commander Scott St. Lawrence, a highly regarded Sapphirean scientist and entrepreneur. St. Lawrence was selected by the Odyssey Project Command Committee on the basis of his leadership of the Stargazer Mission Consulting Group, which designed and built the long-range telemetry systems for the Pathfinder Class. St. Lawrence was killed in a shuttle accident a few weeks before Pegasus launch.
Prime Commander William Keeler took command of Pegasus after the death of Prime Commander St. Lawrence. Keeler had been the Chancellor of the University of Sapphire – New Cleveland, and had been the committee’s alternate choice for command. None of them ever expected he would actually take the offer and the choice of him as an alternate had been intended purely as a gesture of respect to the Keeler families long and revered history on Sapphire Colony.
Prime Commander Keeler stepped down in approximately the Sapphirean Year 7521 and handed command over to TyroCommander Eliza Jane Change, a distinguished pilot and navigator in the Mining Guild prior to being recruited for the Odyssey Project. Eliza Jane Change commanded the ship as ‘Acting Commander’ for the next ten years.
Prime Commander David Alkema took over command of Pegasus from Eliza Jane Change after the Battle of Terrastar.
Prime Commander Skua Rook took over command of Pegasus when David Alkema retired.
Ultimate Fate[]
Some 500 years after her launch, Pegasus final course was set into the Event horizon of the super-massive black hole at the center of the galaxy. The only cargo left on board was the corpse of Skua Rook, who had left instructions that the ship was to serve as her tomb.