Cicada

The AISV Cicada is an Alterra colony ship that was dispatched along with a crew of 40,000 on a fourteen-year journey to settle the distant desert planet Zezura, whilst the Ariadne Arm was succumbing to the spread of Kharaa mutated xenomorphs.

Background

Some time after the year 2183, a previously unknown form of Kharaa was unearthed in a Mongolian mining facility in the Ariadne Arm named Neo-Caligo, operated by the company Apex Industries. The first recorded outbreak took place in a colony on the moon Freya IV. In the ensuing panic, quarantine protocols were ignored, and fleeing miners and colonists spread Kharaa further.

The spread of Kharaa throughout the predominantly Mongolian settled Ariadne Arm created many refugees and prompted some to suggest isolating the Ariadne Arm. Rather than isolate, it was chosen to fight the Kharaa's spread directly by sending in Trans-System Federation frontiersmen to infected worlds to stop the spread, as said by Admiral Rathine Studaber.

Around this time, Alterra had begun advertising its Pioneer Program to the planet of Zezura as an escape from the political turmoil and spreading disease. A crew of 40,000, including a complement of armed frontiersmen, would set off on the fourteen year journey to the planet that would end up being cut short after the ship's AI redirected the Cicada's course after picking up an unknown signal, performing an unscheduled phase jump and bringing the ship to an unspecified star system where it was caught in the gravity of Proteus, an ocean moon orbiting a gas giant, breaking up in the atmosphere.

Sections

Compartments

• Sleep Bay 3

  • Human Fabrication
  • Adaptation
    • Sampling Pavilion
    • Biolock to EVA Suit prep
      • EVA Suit Prep

• Lifepod Holds (Rosette V Digital Lifepod)

  • Lifepod Hold 73
  • Lifepod Hold 74

• EVA Suit Prep

• Atmospheric Therapy

• Emergency Stairwell

Lander Modules

(Lander Modules are how the Colonists are supposed to reach the Planets surface from the ship)

• unknown Landers
  • Lander Garage
  • Cargo Hold
  • Canteen

Crew Manifest

Colony Mission

Machinery

• MAC Drone

Loaded Vehicles

• Tadpole

Gallery

Development

Other

Trivia

• Strangely, the contract found in the PDA's databank makes no mention of the signer's body, only about their consciousness. This raises many questions about if 40,000 humans were actually aboard the Cicada, or only a few to act as crew.
• The name "Cicada" is likely a reference to the behavior of cicada nymphs, which emerge from hibernation after 13 to 17 years.
  • This parallels the ship's 14-year journey, during which most of the population was "hibernating" in digital storage, likely to be reprinted by the NoA upon arrival at Zezura.
  • The cicada has also been used in myth and folklore as a symbol of immortality and carefree living. This appears to correlate with the pioneers' ability to reprint after death and their escape to Zezura, where they can live a carefree life away from the Kharaa.
• Originally, the Cicada was named "Minggatu", the reason for the name change is unknown.
  • It was most likely named after the Mongolian astronomer Sharavyn Myangat, who is known as Minggatu.