- "I say that we abandon this ship! We take the shuttle and just get the hell out of here!."
- — Lambert, to Ripley and Parker
The shuttlecraft Narcissuss
The Narcissus was a modified type 5 shuttlecraft that was the shuttlecraft and lifeboat for the Federation freighter Nostromo. Lieutenant Ellen Ripley used the Narcissus to escape the destruction of it's parent vessel in 2360, along with the ship's cat Jones, Major Sarah Mackenzie and Lieutenant Typhuss James Halliwell.
Overview[]
The Narcissus weighed 48 metric tonnes. Its hull, measuring 16.3 meters in length, 19.7 meters wide and 7.5 meters in height, was constructed of conventional composite construction, with a ceramic and composite out skin. The single internal cabin offered 108 cubic meters of space, including numerous lockers and storage space for supplies and equipment. The shuttle was also equipped with a folding tricycle undercarriage, allowing it to set down on planetary bodies if required.
As standard, the Narcissus was designed to carry a crew of three, including a pilot, co-pilot and science officer, although the interior could be easily modified to seat more crew members if necessary. For long duration travel, the shuttle contains two stasis pods, although long-range interstellar transit is not the vessel's primary purpose.
Energy and propulsion[]
The Narcissus is powered by a 9gW microfusion reactor that drives two Newington A-24 impulse engines. These engines employ water as the reaction mass. Engine thrust can be variably vectored through two forward or four rearward thrust tunnels, allowing the shuttle to move with equal speed in either direction; indeed, the Narcissus was designed to evacuate the Nostromo in reverse when used as an emergency escape vehicle.
For interstellar travel, a Romberg 100C tachyon shunt can propel the Narcissus at low faster-than-light speeds. Fully fuelled, the vessel has a range of 13 parsecs.
History[]
In 2360, the Nostromo had been intruded by a Xenomorph and began to kill the Nostromo's crew members one by one. Lieutenant Ellen Ripley sets off the Nostromo's self-destruct system as an attempt to kill the creature, she along with her pet cat Jones, Major Sarah Mackenzie and Lieutenant Typhuss James Halliwell boards the Narcissus to escape the Nostromo just moments before its destruction.
Unknown by her that the creature had also snuck on board the shuttlecraft by camouflaging itself in a small crevice, but Ripley finally manage to kill it by blowing it out an airlock and igniting it with the engines.
Ripley activates the shuttlecraft's auto pilot and sets it on a course for the Kansas. It would remain on auto pilot in space for twelve days until it was recovered by the crew of the USS Kansas. The crew was immediately transferred to the USS Kansas for medical care.