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"We need to get back out there; do what we came to do."
Elizabeth Weir

The Atlantis Expedition is an international contingent of Starfleet officers, civilians, Starfleet Marines and MACO soldiers based on Starbase Atlantis in the Alpha Quadrant, based on Starbase 290 (Starbase Atlantis) and based in the Ancient City-ship of Atlantis in the Pegasus galaxy, a satellite of the Milky Way. The impetus for the expedition's creation was the discovery of an Ancient outpost in Antarctica, to explore the Pegasus galaxy and began exploring the worlds of this new, unexplored galaxy, forging alliance with native races and steadfastly opposing the dominance of the Wraith. Its international origin stems from feelings that a project of such importance (the study of the Ancient outpost in Antarctica, which predates the expedition's founding) could not be the exclusive province of one nation, as well as the fact that according to American and international law, Antarctica is international territory and hence it would be technically illegal for the United States of America to operate any facilities without international participation or at least international knowledge. An international committee, originally called the Atlantis Committee was established, creating the first truly international body for the management of Earth's off world affairs.

The Expedition is currently led by Vice Admiral Kira with his predecessors having been Doctor Elizabeth Weir and General Samantha Carter.

Like Stargate Command which is home to the Stargate Program, the Expedition also deploys several highly-trained teams composed of Starfleet, MACO and Starfleet Marine personnel and civilians from every country in the world with the Expedition's flagship team, the First Atlantis Reconnaissance team or AR-1 which is being led by Colonel John Sheppard who also serves as the Expedition's military commander.

Following the Wraith attack on Earth, the Expedition was dissolved pending a review of its mandate and future. A reconnaissance mission back to Pegasus several months later would reveal a startling and disturbing buildup of Wraith forces, however, and the Atlantis Expedition was reinstated and allocated additional personnel for its efforts.

History[]

Arrival[]

When the Atlantis expedition arrived from Earth through the Jumpgate in July 2379, they started to explore the galaxy until Dr. Meredith Rodney McKay, the expedition's chief science officer discovered that they should bulid a starbase. After searching Athos for safe refuge due to the starbase not being ready, the search team eventually brought the Athosians back after a Wraith culling occurred. When the team and refugees returned, the expedition continued to settle down and set up home for both themselves and the Athosian refugees.

Federation encounters with the Wraith[]

Main article: Federation-Wraith War

By this time in the Pegasus galaxy, Starbase 290 had been built by the expedition. Having learned of the existence of Earth as a more densely populated feeding ground, the Wraith sent three Hive ships to attack Starbase Atlantis. The Atlantis expedition was able to send a message to Earth, which sent its newest battlecruiser, the USS Daedalus, to assist them. Together, they managed to destroy the three ships, but the Wraith sent another twelve. Seeing no way of destroying them, the expedition used a cloak adapted from a Puddle Jumper, and a timed quantum torpedo to make it appear that the starbase had been destroyed. The Wraith fell for the ruse, causing them to fall into Civil War. The secret of Starbase Atlantis is now a top priority for the expedition members.

Later in the same year, live Lanteans were discovered in the void between Pegasus and the Milky Way, who subsequently reclaimed the starbase and forced the expedition out. Shortly afterwords, the Asurans attacked the starbase, killing the Lanteans and taking Brigadier General Jack O'Neill and Richard Woolsey hostage. Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard, Typhuss James Kira, Dr. Elizabeth Weir, McKay, Dr. Carson Beckett, Teyla Emmagan, and Ronon Dex launched a daring rescue mission, using the starbase's shield generators to emit a massive Replicator disruptor wave. The expedition was then able to reclaim Starbase Atlantis, keeping one of the Zero Point Modules installed by the Asurans.

The Asuran conflict[]

Asuran Council

The Atlantis Expedition meet the Asuran Council and it's leader Oberoth

Sometime later, after a massive preemptive strike on Asuras by Earth's new battle cruiser, the USS Apollo, the Asurans launched an attack on Starbase 290. They sent a satellite housing a Stargate to a planet, and after dialing in from Asuras, directed a powerful energy beam at Starbase 290. Unable to evacuate the starbase, they were able to fully dissipate the beam and defeat the Asurans by destroying their satellite weapon.

Alliance against the Asurans[]

Main article: Battle of Asuras
Be All My Sins Remember'd

The allied fleet in battle over Asuras

Knowing that the Atlantis team had re-activated the attack command in the Asurans, the Wraith, Todd, allied himself with them in an attempt to stop the Asurans once and for all as they were a common enemy between the Wraith and the humans of the Federation. After McKay came up with a plan that would destroy the Asurans for good, the humans of Starbase Atlantis formed an alliance with the Wraith to forge an attack fleet to hold off the Asuran fleet long enough for the plan to be put into play. In the battle that followed, the Federation, Wraith, and Travelers, worked side-by-side against the Asurans and finally destroyed them with the loss of a single Hive ship and a single Travelers ship. Afterwords the alliance was ended and the war resumed.

Clashes with the Wraith[]

Although the Federation-Wraith war continues, the Federation have made considerable progress despite terrible odds. With the addition of Daedalus-class battlecruisers and quantum phasers, the Federation are slowly gaining the upper hand in terms of technology, but they still lack anywhere near enough ships to actually start a full scale war. Since the alliance against the Asurans, there have only been a few skirmishes (mostly with Michael Kenmore), but the Tau'ri gained a major victory when they destroyed the Wraith cloning facility that had created the army that had overwhelmed the Ancients before the Wraith could clone a new one, and took another Hive ship with it.

Michael Kenmore, an enemy of the Expedition invaded Starbase Atlantis in the hope of kidnapping Teyla Emmagan's son to perfect his armies but he was ultimately defeated with Teyla sending Michael to his death.

With the help of Todd, the expedition has made some headway and even found a way to cause the Wraith to lose their feeding organs with the result of a deadly disease. Todd is the only survivor of that disease. He had also stolen an unknown number of Zero Point Modules (at least six) from Asuras before it was destroyed and has used them to his own ends. Three were used to power the cloning facility and were destroyed when it was destroyed, at least one was used to power a hive ship and two more were given to Atlantis to fully power it. The ZPM used to power the Hive ship caused it to become the Super-hive and was so powerful that it was nearly invincible and not even two Daedalus class ships could destroy it. This led to the Battle of the Super-hive where that particular hive ship went after Earth. After a massive battle where Earth lost its weapons platform, the Hive ship was destroyed by Sheppard and the team as well as Major Evan Lorne using a quantum torpedo Sheppard managed to sneak aboard.

The IOA attempts to shutdown the expedition[]

On Earth, the IOA began shutting down the expedition. Many, such as Rodney McKay quit or transferred away. Others began to join the crew of the USS George Hammond which would be going to Pegasus to continue the fight against the Wraith. Eventually, the IOA shut down the expedition entirely, in a last desperate attempt to force the IOA to stop, General Jack O'Neill seized control of Starbase Atlantis, using the fact that it was in Federation hands to claim it for Starfleet. At the same time, he made sure all transfers were to the George Hammond where General Carter, who was working with him, could transfer the people back. Richard Woolsey also began spinning the situation from a political angle, reminding the IOA that as long as Starbase Atlantis was under Federation control, it fell under Starfleet jurisdiction. Not wanting Starbase Atlantis under full Starfleet control, the IOA eventually caved and restored the expedition, claiming that they had always planned to allow the Atlantis expedition to return to Pegasus. O'Neill restored command to Carter, having used his brief tenure as commander to stock Starbase Atlantis with supplies and bring in "half the Starfleet Marine Corps", Doctor Bill Lee and his team and the entire SGC maintenance section to effect repairs to the Starbase Atlantis weapons that would've taken months otherwise. Thanks to O'Neill, the Atlantis expedition now numbered around four hundred people, about one hundred of which were new Starfleet Marine personnel. As he could not hire new civilian contractors during the time the expedition was shut down, Carter welcomed these new people. Two days after the IOA caved, the restored Atlantis expedition began its return trip to Pegasus.

Return to Pegasus[]

Seven days into a nine day journey back to Pegasus, the USS Polaris was traveling in the Jumpgate when the gate developed a malfunction due to a problem and the Polaris ended up in the intergalactic void between the Milky Way and Pegasus galaxies, stranded in space until the gate could be repaired. Once the gate was repaired the Polaris re-entered the gate and continued on to the Pegasus galaxy. They arrived several hours later and set a course to Starbase 290. The expedition also discovered a new Wraith Queen had risen to power in their absence, Queen Death and posed a very great threat to the galaxy.

Things took a turn for the worse, though as during a raid, McKay was eventually captured by a Wraith Dart, leaving his team devastated and vowing to search for him. They eventually found him but were shocked to discover that he had been turned into a Wraith named "Quicksilver" and that McKay/Quicksilver had also developed severe memory loss, believing that he had always been a Wraith who loyally served the Wraith Queen, Death.

Commanding officers[]

Atlantis Expedition logo

The Atlantis Expedition logo

Atlantis Committee[]

At least two dozen countries are confirmed to have at least one member in the expedition. The Atlantis Committee is composed of the representatives of several nations, but the leaders of the committee seem to be the Federation, the United Kingdom, France, Russia and China. However, numerous nations have sent people to Starbase Atlantis.

Staff[]

"Every one of you volunteered for this mission and you represent over a dozen countries. You are the world's best and brightest! And in light of the adventure we are about to embark on....you're also the bravest. I hope we all return one day having discovered a whole new realm for humanity to explore."
Elizabeth Weir
Main article: Atlantis team

Certain personnel have special duties within the Stargate program, an example of these are the Atlantis teams. When the Atlantis expedition was formed there has been at least 11 active teams in the Pegasus galaxy. Atlantis personnel varies heavily in nationality, role, and rank. They all have different colors on their uniforms depending on their role.

In addition to this, each member has a flag patch that contains the flag of the member's home country. Though the most common uniforms are almost all charcoal black, some members have been seen with all-khaki uniforms. They are also color coded. The colors indicate what specialty the members are part of:

  • Red (command/civilian)
  • Blue (scientist)
  • Yellow (medical)
  • Black (military/Starfleet)
  • Green (technician)

The original uniforms featured the science and medical uniforms being a light color unlike military, command and technician uniforms. The first changed had the light color removed and the final also featured less of the colors and had special jackets for missions. John Sheppard also had a special variation. (SGA: "This Mortal Coil")

Leadership[]

The Atlantis expedition has always had a clear chain of command, with one member of the expedition being in charge. Even though the Atlantis expedition is not part of Starfleet, orders from the commander were generally expected to be followed within reason.

There have been four leaders since the Atlantis expedition was first launched.

Doctor/Lieutenant General Elizabeth Weir[]

Doctor/Lieutenant General Elizabeth Weir was the first leader of the Atlantis expedition. Her background as a diplomat and her having negotiated many difficult treaties in hostile areas successfully. Despite her more than capable management of Starbase Atlantis both during it's initial days and once they were able to establish communication with Earth, she was disliked by many of the officers who felt that she was not fit to command such a mission. She lead the Atlantis expedition for about two years before being replaced by Colonel Carter. Weir was ultimately respected by all the expedition members.

Colonel/General Samantha Carter[]

Took command shortly after Weir's reassignment to Starbase 306. Unlike Weir, her back ground earned her the respect of most of the starship commanding officers such as Colonel Ellis and Caldwell. Although her time in command of Starbase Atlantis was only 10 years she had earned the respect of many of the crew. She was replaced by Vice Admiral Kira in 2391. Sam is currently the senior advisor to the current Expedition leader, Vice Admiral Kira.

Vice Admiral Typhuss James Kira[]

A member of the Atlantis Expedition for many years, Typhuss was originally offered command of the Expedition and the starbase in 2381 but he turned down Weir's offer. 10 years later, Weir again offered command of the Expedition and the starbase to him, this time Typhuss accepted the assignment but he ultimately was respected by the crew, his back ground earned him the respect of most of the starship commanding officers such as Colonel Ellis and Caldwell. Typhuss took great pride in his job and showed great dedication to protecting Earth, Starbase Atlantis and the Expedition.

Lieutenant General Jack O'Neill[]

While the Atlantis Expedition was stuck on Earth pending IOA approval - which seemed unlikely to come. Both Woolsey and O'Neill tried anything they could to get approval to return. Including an appeal to the President. All of which failed. The IOA then announced that the Expedition should be left under their control, which would effectively make them the most powerful group on Earth. They further ordered that the Atlantis Expedition should be shutdown this led to many key personal quitting.

Jack claimed that as the commander of Homeworld Security it was within his jurisdiction to seize of the Expedition. Ultimately no one knew if he was indeed allowed to do this but during his short time as commander, he ordered Starbase Atlantis to be repaired and its personnel to be bolstered with new transfers. He also brought supplies on board.

The IOA then ordered that the Atlantis Expedition should return to Pegasus as its presence on Earth was destabilizing as anyone who controlled the Expedition would be more powerful than most governments.

Jack's seizing of the Atlantis Expedition proved to be a ploy to which Woolsey and Carter were part of.

Jack's time as leader of the Atlantis Expedition was the shortest of any official head of the Expedition but his contributions were no less important that any of the others before him. His unorthodox view of command and lack of attention to the rule book was what allowed the Expedition to return.

Temporary leaders[]

  • John Sheppard
  • Carson Beckett

John Sheppard[]

John Sheppard temporarily assumed command of Starbase Atlantis after the apparent reassignment of Doctor Elizabeth Weir up until Colonel Samantha Carter's arrival at Starbase Atlantis as Weir's replacement.

Carson Beckett[]

Though he never actually assumed command of the starbase, Carson Beckett, in his position of chief medical officer, had the authority to remove and even overrule the leaders orders if he deemed there to be a medical reason. The extent of to this power is not clearly defined but he was able to give directions to Elizabeth Weir, forcing her to take time off. While Beckett is no longer the chief medical officer this position is currently held by Doctor Keller.

Logistics[]

The expedition needed a constant flux of personnel, replacement parts and other supplies. The first year, they depended of what they took with them. After that, most of it came from the Daedalus, which made regular trips from Atlantis to Earth, but even with these, it was impossible to supply Atlantis with all the necessary, so the bulk of their food had to be traded from local people, like the Athosians or the Genii.

Departments[]

Many of the scientists on Starbase Atlantis are organised into departments, each with their own department head. Dr. Rodney McKay was head of the Science and Research Division which most likely meant he was in charge of all of the science departments. Dr. Radek Zelenka was also the head of his own department. The various science departments on Starbase Atlantis are:

  • Physics
    • Astrophysics
  • Biology
    • Microbiology
    • Astrobiology
  • Oceanography
  • Botany
  • Medicine
  • Anthropology

Starbase life[]

The Atlantis expedition have set up numerous social activities to make residents of the starbase feel more at home. There is even an orientation committee to help new members get settled in.

Social activities include:

  • Unofficial Mensa Chapter
  • Movie screenings
  • Organised sports and other physical activities:
    • Volleyball
    • Kickboxing
    • Golf
  • Chess tournaments
  • Poker nights

It is also implied that there is a bar on Starbase Atlantis (either officially or unofficially) where members can get alcoholic beverages such as beer.

Races encountered[]

"You have been good friends—to all the people of this galaxy."
Teyla Emmagan

Since the formation of the Atlantis expedition the Federation have discovered and made contact with several new races. The most notable one being the Wraith. The expedition made contact with the Wraith, disturbing their 10,000 year old hibernation cycle, almost instantly after settling in the Pegasus galaxy. Since the Battle of Starbase Atlantis, the first Wraith conflict, the Federation and the Wraith have been in war with each other. Another hostile race in the Pegasus Galaxy was the Asurans. The Asurans are a technological life-form originally created by the Ancients as a means of fighting the Wraith. They were ultimately defeated in 2382 by a united fleet of Federation, Wraith and Traveler ships.

In 2384, Dr. Daniel Jackson and Dr. Rodney McKay were captured by an unknown, rogue alien race who wished for them to activate Janus' secret end-game device. The rogue aliens later turned out to be a faction of the Asgard that had broken away a millennium ago. These Asgard seem to not share the values of their Milky Way counterparts.

They've also befriended many human civilizations as well, making allies of the Athosians and the Travelers, among others.

Expedition members[]

Senior members[]

Former senior members[]

  • Colonel Marshall Sumner (USA); Military Commander (2379) KIA
  • Dr. Carson Beckett (Scotland); Chief medical officer (2379–2381) KIA
  • Lieutenant Aiden Ford (USA); former member of AR-1 (2379–2380), MIA

Other known members[]

  • Dr. Abrams; Scientist (2379), died on Light Bugs' Planet 
  • Dr. Adams (USA); Medical staff
  • Dr. Archimedes (Greece); Scientist
  • Dr. Ambrose 
  • Sergeant Bale (USA); MACO, KIA 
  • Amelia Banks (USA); Control room technician (2381–present)
  • Sergeant Barroso (USA); MACO, KIA 
  • Sergeant Bates (USA); Starbase Atlantis Security Chief (2379-2380), currently SGC Field Operations Division Agent, formerly IOA Field Operations Division Agent 
  • Dr. Gerald Baxter; Botanist
  • Danger Beckett
  • Dr. Biro (USA); Medical Staff (2379-2381)
  • Billick; Marine
  • Bolton 
  • Dr. Mike Branton; Scientist
  • Dr. Katie Brown; Botanist (2380–2382)
  • Dr. Bryce; Scientist
  • Lieutenant Laura Cadman (USA); Explosives expert (2380)
  • Sergeant Chuck (Canada); Control room technician (2379–2385, 2386-present)
  • Sergeant Cole; Marine KIA
  • Dr. Cole; Medical staff (2381)
  • Dr. Coleman; Scientist
  • Dr. Collins; Scientist. Died on Doranda 
  • Dr. Corrigan; Anthropologist 
  • Coughlin; starfleet. Killed by Iratus bugs 
  • Lieutenant Crown (USA); Starfleet
  • Dayna; Scientist
  • Dr. Dickenson; Scientist. Killed by Wraith Queen 
  • Dr. Donaldson; Scientist
  • Lieutenant Donovan; Starfleet
  • Major Dorsey; Starfleet
  • Dr. Dumais; Scientist (2379), died from nanovirus 
  • Edgar; Starfleet
  • Lieutenant Edison; Starfleet
  • Ellen; Technician 
  • Dr. Rafaela Esposito (Portugal); Scientist
  • Colonel Dillon Everett (USA); Planetary Defense Commander
  • Dr. Brendan Gall (United Kingdom); Scientist, died on Light Bugs' Planet 
  • Dr. Garrett: Scientist 
  • Dr. Graydon; Scientist. Killed by Wraith Queen 
  • Dr. Peter Grodin (United Kingdom); Engineer/Administrator (2379–2380), KIA on Lagrangian Point satellite 
  • Hansen; Military
  • Harris; Combat engineer
  • Dr. Hays; Scientist, died from nanovirus 
  • Dr. Kate Heightmeyer (USA); Psychologist (2379–2381)
  • Hester; Starfleet
  • Dr. Harriet Hewston; Scientist, killed by explosive tumor
  • Dr. Johnson; Scientist, died from nanovirus
  • Major Jordan; Marine
  • Lieutenant Kagan (USA); Marine
  • Dr. Peter Kavanagh (USA); Scientist, worked on Starbase Atlantis, Midway space station and Daedalus (2379–present)
  • Lieutenant Kemp; KIA 
  • Major Kersey; Starfleet
  • Dr. Kiang; Botanist
  • Dr. Miko Kusanagi (Japan); Scientist
  • Largent; member of Leonard's Atlantis Reconnaissance Team, KIA
  • Major Leonard; leader of Leonard's Atlantis Reconnaissance Team, KIA
  • Dr. Lindsay; Scientist
  • Dr. Lindstrom (USA); Scientist/Engineer. KIA
  • Dr. Lynch 
  • Dr. Mackenzie; Scientist
  • Dr. Mallozzi; Scientist
  • Marie (South Korea); Medical staff/Nurse
  • Sergeant Markham (USA); Marine, KIA 
  • Matthews (USA); Marine
  • Dr. McBride (Japan); Medical staff
  • Dr. McNab; Oceanographer
  • Sergeant Dusty Mehra; Military, member of Teldy's Atlantis Reconnaissance Team (2384)
  • Dr. Mike Branton; Scientist
  • Lieutenant Lou Miller (Canada); Marine
  • Dr. Moore; Oceanographer
  • Lieutenant Morrison (USA); KIA 
  • Myers 
  • Lieutenant Negley; Marine
  • Dr. Nichols; Scientist
  • Dr. Nieves; Medical staff
  • Major Nelson 
  • Parker; Marine
  • Dr. Parrish; Botanist (2380–2383)
  • Dr. Peterson; died from nanovirus
  • Dr. Alison Porter (USA); Member Teldy's Atlantis Reconnaissance Team (2384)
  • Ramirez ; Marine
  • Lieutenant Reed; Marine
  • Lieutenant Rivers; Marine
  • Captain Robbins; Marine
  • Dr. Eva Robinson; Psychologist (2385-present) 
  • Major Elliot Rutherford (USA); Marine
  • Sherman; Marine
  • Smith; (2379–2380) killed while flying Puddle Jumper to defend Starbase Atlantis from Wraith Dart 
  • Dr. Simpson; Scientist (2379)
  • Sergeant Stackhouse (USA); leader of Stackhouse's Atlantis Reconnaissance Team (2379–2380)
  • Stevens; Marine, member of Lorne's Atlantis Reconnaissance Team, killed attempting to retrieve Iratus bug eggs 
  • Major Anne Teldy; leader of Teldy's Atlantis Reconnaissance Team
  • Toriel: member of Edison's Atlantis Reconnaissance Team 
  • Captain Alicia Vega; member of Teldy's Atlantis Reconnaissance Team, killed by Michael Kenmore's experiments 
  • Dr. Wagner; Scientist - first wave. Died from nanovirus 
  • Walker; Marine, member of Lorne's Atlantis Reconnaissance Team, killed attempting to retrieve Iratus bug eggs 
  • Dr. James Watson; Scientist
  • Williams; Marine
  • Yamato; (Japan) Marine, member of Stackhouse's Atlantis Reconnaissance Team 
  • Young female scientist; Scientist
  • Young Doctor; Medical staff
  • Systems Tech (China); Control room technician
  • Unnamed Starbase Atlantis scientist; Scientist
  • Unnamed Starbase Atlantis technician (USA); Control room technician (2379)
  • Pretty Marine 

Atlantis uniforms[]

Stargate Atlantis uniforms

Atlantis uniforms (2379)

Stargate Atlantis uniforms 3

Atlantis uniforms (2380)

Stargate Atlantis uniforms 4

Atlantis uniforms (2381)

Stargate Atlantis uniforms 2

Other types of uniforms

Each expedition member wears a standard issue uniform that also has a flag patch showing the flag of their home country. Though the most common uniforms are almost all charcoal grey, some members have been seen with all-khaki uniforms. They are also color coded. The colors indicate what specialty the members are part of:

In 2382, another variant of the uniform was introduced because Rodney said the old jackets had bulging sleeves.

Color Assignment Person
Red Leadership, civilians Doctor Elizabeth Weir,
Teyla Emmagan,
Richard Woolsey, Typhuss J. Kira
Black Starfleet Marine and Starfleet John Sheppard, Typhuss J. Kira,
Evan Lorne
Green Technician Chuck, Amelia Banks
Blue Scientist Doctor Rodney McKay, Doctor Radek Zelenka
Yellow Medical staff Doctor Carson Beckett, Doctor Jennifer Keller

Gallery[]

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