The
United States Air Force Space Vessel “Prometheus” was both the first Spacefaring Warship and
the first FTL Capable Spacecraft ever constructed by the Tau’ri.
The Prometheus was the first and only vessel of the BC-303 Prometheus Class, and its design
incorporated an extensive stockpile of reverse-engineered Goa’uld technology, including Goa’uld
Energy Shields, Sublight Engines and a Ring Platform for short range teleportation.
The USAF Prometheus was 195 meters in length and 80 meters wide, for its entire service
history the Prometheus served as the flagship of Homeworld Command and the Tau’ri Fleet.
The spaceframe of the Prometheus was long and narrow, with two large hyperdrive power
cells mounted on pylons to the port and starboard aft.
In 2003, the Prometheus was refitted to incorporate several new technologies made available to
the Tau’ri by the Asgard.
This refit removed the power cells from the port and starboard pylons, replacing them
with a secondary and tertiary hanger bay, this was because the new Asgard Hyperdrive
was far more efficient, and required less power.
The Asgard Hyperdrive was an astronomical improvement over the repurposed Al’Kesh
hyperdrive the ship had used previously, even allowing the Prometheus to traverse the Intergalactic
Void between the Milky Way and Pegasus Galaxies in a matter of months, a feat that would previously
have taken thousands of years.
Prometheus was armed with 24 High Velocity Electromagnetic Railguns, 12 VLS Missile Silos
and several Naquadria enhanced Mark 9 “Gatebuster” Nuclear Weapons.
The ship’s hull was made up of an advanced Trinium/Naquadah alloy that was 100 times
stronger and lighter than refined steel, and the vessel’s launch bays held 8 F-302 Fighter
Interceptors.
Following its commissioning in 2002, the USAF Prometheus was placed under the Command of
Colonel William Ronson.
Ronson’s Sojourn as Commander of Prometheus would last only two missions however, with
Major General George Hammond taking personal command of Prometheus before the pivotal Battle
of Antarctica.
For the final two years of her life, the Prometheus was commanded by Colonel Lionel Pendergast,
after the arrival of the Ori in the Milky Way, Prometheus was dispatched to the Tegalus
system to attempt to disable a powerful satellite-mounted weapons platform deployed by the Ori-Loyal
Rand Protectorate.
Upon arriving in-system the Prometheus launched a salvo of missiles at the satellite, only
to find it was heavily shielded and that their missiles had no effect.
Colonel Pendergast then ordered a flight of F-302’s to begin strafing the satellite
in an attempt to drain its shields, but was interrupted when the platform fired its primary
weapon at Prometheus, tearing through the vessel’s shields and fully penetrating its
primary hull, bringing the ship to the cusp of destruction.
With Prometheus now disabled and immobile, Colonel Pendergast began to implore the Rand
Protectorate to accept his ship’s surrender via radio broadcast, when his pleads were
met with silence he called for all hands to abandon ship.
The crew of Prometheus began evacuating by means of Asgard Transporters and F-302’s,
with Colonel Pendergast electing to remain at his post to buy time for his crew.
Sadly, before the evacuation could be fully completed, the weapons platform fired again
at the crippled Prometheus, this time tearing the ship in two at the neck, destroying it
utterly.
Despite the tragedy, the self-sacrifice of Colonel Lionel Pendergast led to the survival
of two thirds of the Prometheus crew, including three members of SG1.
As the first Spacefaring Warship ever built by the Tau’ri, the USAF Prometheus laid
the groundwork for further developments of the Tau’ri Fleet, and elements of its design
can be clearly seen in the later BC-304 Daedalus Class Battlecruiser.