SS Pioneer

The SS Pioneer was a huge Human and Silurian colony ship that left Earth in the year 2201, exactly one hundred years since the launch of the SS Ascension. The Pioneer was outfitted for multi-world colonization, a remarkable feat of engineering that was developed after scientists developed strato-pods, which are essentially miniature cities that can exist independently of the ship that transports them to a planet.

Usually, when an uninhabited planet is first colonised, the starship that brings the settlers there is fixed permanently into the system, with the reactor of the ship becoming the driving force for developments on the planet. However, in the Pioneer's case, strato-pods can be deployed onto a planet from orbit, that will then be used as staging outposts for later colonization. This meant that the Pioneer could theoretically colonize dozens of worlds in its operational lifespan, saving money and speeding up the expansion process.

In reality, the Pioneer did indeed establish colonies on many different worlds, several of which were already inhabited. However, the strato-pods proved relatively unsafe, since one out of every twelve pods suffered catastrophic system failures during their descent and some even exploded due to life-support failures. Since these events, the idea of strato-pods was shelved until further developments could be made, and the SS Pioneer disappeared from the forefront of Human colonization. In fact, after three years of hauling cargo between the Earth and Luna, the ship itself disappeared altogether.

Some say pirates hijacked the ship, others say it was destroyed and the disaster was covered up to subsidise the intergalatic trade economy. However, all these rumours were quashed when an exploration vessel located the Pioneer as well as several other missing ships, left adrift near the Jupiter Mining Belt. Damage on the ship's starboard side hinted at severe asteroid impacts, and the ship's blackbox had been damaged beyond repair. Until this day, the mystery has never been solved.

That was not the end of the Pioneer, however. After being salvaged it played a part in a battle that took place over Mars, between Silurians and a fleet of Yautja ships. The SS Pioneer saved the Martian Orbital Station Network by taking a hit from a Yautja destroyer that was intended for the Martian Space Elevator, however in the process the Pioneer was severely damaged and crashed onto the surface of Mars, killing all aboard.

The overarching irony of the SS Pioneer is that, despite being built to last, and never having to land anywhere on a planet, the Pioneer's wreck was salvaged and the power core used to replace the damaged Martian power grid. Despite its status, the Pioneer was quickly reduced to scrap and hastily forgotten.