THE PUDDLE JUMPER: A small, space-faring vessel engineered by the Ancients in the
city of Atlantis many millions of years ago. The multi-purpose craft was likely used by
the Lanteans for traveling through the Stargate, visiting other worlds
or transporting personnel and supplies to various outposts in the Pegasus Galaxy.
When an expedition from Earth arrived in the vacated city, Jumpers – also called
“Gateships” by Dr. Rodney McKay – became the chief vehicle for offworld exploration.
The Puddle Jumper is a small, cylindrical craft designed to fit through a Stargate.
It is capable of operation in space or in a planet’s atmosphere, and with a clean-energy
engine can travel at substantial sublight speeds. Because the ship is air-tight and boasts a
structurally reinforced hull, with some care it can also be piloted under water.
Anti-gravity systems allow for smooth vertical takeoff and landing,
and the ships can hover in place – both when the drive pods are extended and when they are
retracted for transition through the gate. Deploying the drive pods after exiting
a Stargate provides the ship with additional speed and maneuverability.
Inside the ship, two compartments can be sealed off from one another by means of a
closing bulkhead. The forward compartment holds the Jumper’s piloting console, with a heads-up
display on the large forward view port for making use of the ship’s advanced sensors during flight.
Like many of the powerful technologies devised by the Ancients, the Jumper requires a pilot
who possesses the Ancient gene to operate the vehicle. (The expedition from Earth overcame this
with an Ancient Technology Activation gene therapy developed by Dr. Carson Beckett.) Once activated,
a wireless neural interface operates at least some of the ship’s controls.
Between the pilot and co-pilot seats, a triangular panel holds a miniaturized dial-home device.
This is capable of rapidly dialing a Stargate as soon as the Jumper comes within range.
Once the ship draws within a few meters of the gate, automated systems guide the Jumper through
the event horizon with precision accuracy. The ship’s rear compartment is spacious enough to
hold around a dozen passengers or a small amount of cargo, along with standard emergency supplies.
At least one access point on both the port and starboard sides allows engineers to interface with
the ship’s digital control systems, including drive pod control. A single external door
sits at the rear of the vehicle, and is the only way to board or to disembark.
Jumpers are also armed with an estimated twelve powerful drone weapons, likely a slightly smaller
version of those that protect Atlantis itself. These are located in discrete weapons panels on
the port and starboard sides of the ship, immediately in front of the drive pods.
The ship’s primary defensive capability is its onboard cloaking generator, which can render
the Puddle Jumper perfectly invisible to the naked eye (and to most enemy sensors) – though
this uses a substantial amount of power. A remote device can also be taken off the ship,
to cloak and uncloak the vessel at the press of a button. The generator
can also be modified to emit an energy shield instead, though this requires more power still.
Because they use Stargates for long-distance travel, Puddle Jumpers are not equipped with
hyperspace engines. On one occasion, and at great risk, Rodney McKay modified a Jumper to
achieve hyperspace flight – but it used so much power that it was only good for a one-way trip.
The city of Atlantis includes multiple Jumper bays with several of the small ships – at least
ten of them when the team first arrived. While some Jumpers have been lost along the way,
more were acquired from the discovery of a second Ancient city ship.
One bay is located near the top of the command tower at the center of the city,
directly above the gate room. A retractable roof allows a Jumper to exit the tower from above.
A second bay is beneath the waterline, allowing for underwater deployment of Puddle Jumpers.
Because the Jumper often returns to Atlantis through the Stargate at great speeds,
powerful inertial dampeners protect the passengers and cargo during a
rapid braking sequence inside the gate room. A rare variant of the Puddle Jumper is equipped
with additional technology that allows an able user to pilot the craft through time.
This ship was developed by the Lantean scientist Janus, with one ship known to have existed in
the Pegasus Galaxy, and another in the Milky Way. The large time drive occupies the majority
of the Jumper’s rear compartment, and can be activated through the pilot’s neural interface.
From the Atlantis expedition’s very first day in the city of the Ancients,
Puddle Jumpers have proved to be an indispensable asset in exploration, combat, and reconnaissance.
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