"What you really need to know is that this hive is a work in progress. It has yet to reach its full potential, which means if you attack it now, you may be able to destroy it. But if you hesitate, it will be too late, and this hive will be unstoppable."

—Todd

The super-hive^[1] is a Wraith hive ship that was modified to draw energy from Zero Point Modules. With the abundance of new energy, the Hive had increased incredibly in size and power. It was eventually destroyed over Earth during the Battle of the ZPM powered Hive Ship by Lt. Colonel John Sheppard with an F-302 fighter-interceptor, which had a Nuclear warhead, he snuck on board the Hive. Sheppard was able to do that because Atlantis arrived there just in time.

Contents 1 Overview 2 History 2.1 Construction 2.2 Attack on Earth 3 Gallery 4 References

OverviewEdit

"Inefficient power generation is the Achilles heel of Wraith technology."

—Rodney McKay

The main advantage the Tau'ri have over the Wraith is entirely technological. The Wraith are stronger in number, but their technology is lacking. For instance, their hyperdrive systems are not capable of long-term sustained use, needing to be modified for intergalactic travel. They also possess no shielding technology, and rely on the organic Hive's ability to "heal" itself. The hull is also weakened and damaged by hyperspace travel, so the ship must periodicly stop in a series of jumps for long-term travel in order to let itself heal from the radiation generated by hyperspacea. With the power harnessed from a Zero Point Module, they are no longer technologically inferior; their weapons are orders of magnitude stronger, the hyperdrive much more efficient and the hull of the Hive both heals itself much faster and can absorb punishment on the same order as the most advanced shield technology used by the Tau'ri, making the hull nearly impenetrable even to Asgard weapons and Ancient Drone weapons. When Lt. Colonel John Sheppard and his team cloaked a Puddle Jumper to inspect the ship, it fired a blast in their direction. The Hive ship could detect them, even though they were cloaked, and they took a severe blow. The Daedalus came to their rescue, absorbing the blasts and their shields were holding. However, after they fired a plasma beam at the Hive, a massive power began to build up, before the Hive rapidly unleashed about a dozen much more powerful energy blasts, each directly hitting the Daedalus. The Asgard shields were able to severely reduce the damages to the ship. The increased power of the Hive's armaments fully depleted the shields of the 304 in a dozen shots, and is capable of depleting the Atlantis' shield when powered by three ZPM's in a matter of minutes. This stands in stark contrast to a fleet of Wraith Hive ships and Wraith cruiser escorts, which would have taken days to deplete a single ZPM powered Atlantis shield during the Wraith's second Siege of Atlantis.

The sensors have also been made more sensitive, capable of detecting the energy signature of a cloaked Puddle Jumper, and the very weak transmissions normally overlooked by Wraith sensor systems that would usually give away their position.

Apart from growing in size and capability, the Hive had filled in the large gap in its interior. In all Hive ships prior to this, there has been a large gap in the forward section. The purpose for this new section is henceforth unexplained. As with standard Hives, Wraith Darts are carried in large numbers for fighter screen, strike and harvesting operations. (ATL: "The Siege, Part 3", "Enemy at the Gate")

HistoryEdit

Main article: Battle of the ZPM powered Hive Ship

ConstructionEdit

At the Battle of Asuras, Todd was able to steal a number of Asuran Zero Point Modules before Asuras was destroyed. He used some of them to power his massive cloning facility, and set his underling to work on devising a way to integrate the ZPMs into a Hive ship. (ATL: "Be All My Sins Remember'd", "Spoils of War", "Enemy at the Gate")

The retrofit took well over a year to complete due to the incompatibility between Ancient technology and the organic nature of a Hive ship. However, when the Wraith underling was finally able to make it work, he mutinied, chasing Todd from the Hive. Todd crash landed on an unknown planet with a Stargate and dialed Atlantis. He apprised the expedition of the situation and was permitted back into the city, to yet again ally against the Wraith, though with his track record of duplicity, the expedition remained suspicious, notably Lt. Colonel John Sheppard. He revealed that the ZPM powered hive ship was still in the process of upgrading its systems, and if the process is allowed to complete, the Hive would be unstoppable. (ATL: "Enemy at the Gate")

Attack on EarthEdit

Todd urged Richard Woolsey to attack and destroy the Hive ship before it became a threat to Atlantis. On board the Daedalus, Colonel Steven Caldwell, Lt. Colonel John Sheppard and the rest of the team rushed to engage the new Hive ship. However, the Zero Point Module powered vessel proved itself an impressive opponent, crippling the Daedalus before it made a sudden jump into hyperspace to Earth, following coordinates from a weak subspace signal in Wraith code sent, through subspace, from another reality. They then notified Stargate Command via Atlantis once the communications array was repaired.

In the Milky Way galaxy, Colonel Abraham Ellis and two of Earth's starships, the Apollo and the new Sun Tzu, failed miserably to stop the Wraith ship, with the Apollo, in bad shape herself, taking on crew from the crippled Sun Tzu. Then relaying a message back to Atlantis, detailing their failure to stop the Hive.

Meanwhile, Sheppard interrogated Todd for the location of more ZPMs, which Major Evan Lorne and his team locate; Atlantis, with her full complement of three ZPMs, returns to Earth in a last-ditch effort to defend it. Dr. Carson Beckett flew the city until the Stardrive failed. Dr. Radek Zelenka proposed activating a highly experimental and potentially dangerous Wormhole drive based on the same technology as the Stargate. With it, they reached Earth in a few seconds.

Following instructions from the message they had received, the enhanced Hive sent Wraith Darts to destroy the unmanned control chair at Area 51 while hiding behind the moon, rendering Earth's stock of Drone weapons useless against it.

When Atlantis arrived, it placed itself in a position between the Hive and Earth in order to buy the SGC some more time. Atlantis took the brunt of the Hive ship's assault on Earth and launched a barrage of drones in retaliation. The sheer force of the Hive's weapons fire pushed the city ship into Earth's atmosphere, and it strained the shield. With little power left, Beckett could either have adjusted the course of Atlantis, or kept firing at the enemy ship; Woolsey gave the order to keep firing. The SGC eventually succeeded in destroying the Hive with a Nuclear warhead planted on board by Sheppard, but Atlantis was forced to make a landing through Earth's atmosphere. (ATL: "Enemy at the Gate")

GalleryEdit

ReferencesEdit

1. ↑ Stargate Atlantis: Legacy: Allegiance

Wraith Hive ships
Atlantis' hive ship · Primary's hive ship · Super-hive