Eureka Maru
Encyclopedia
The Eureka Maru is a fictional starship
in the television series Andromeda
. The Maru is a cargo ship
owned by Beka Valentine.
-capable cargo ship and is armed with laser
s and missile
s, and has a three engine thrust system.
Beka has spoken to the Maru on many occasions throughout the series, and in episode 18 of season 4, the Maru appears to creak in response, despite the ship's lack of artificial intelligence
. The Maru computer system responds to commands and inquiries in a manner similar to modern day computers, although it is primarily accessed through vocal commands.
The Maru is about 42 metres in length, judged by the scale of people against it as seen in episode 8 of season 5. It weighs approximately 12,000 tonnes.
and joining his crew. The ship was built by Beka's father, Ignatius Valentine, and his friend Sid Barry.
Sid left the Maru crew when Beka was a child, after a fight between him and Ignatius. Beka has spent most of her life on the Maru, and it has been implied that she was born on board. She is very protective of the Maru and would never allow it to be destroyed; she also hates it when people insult the ship, including Dylan Hunt's frequent use of the term "bucket of bolts".
In episode 4 of series 1, Dylan states that Beka was captain of the Maru for 10 years, meaning she received official command of the ship from her father in CY 10077; in episode 16 of series 4, Harper states that possession of the Maru fell to Beka in CY 10081, the year her father died. Beka's original crew was composed solely of herself and her boyfriend Bobby Jensen; they later broke up and he was replaced by Seamus Harper as the ship's engineer (after he was hired by Bobby for a one-time deal on Earth). Rev Bem joined shortly after this and then another crew member named Vexpag was hired, however he died when his environmental suit ripped. He was replaced by Trance Gemini shortly before they found the Andromeda Ascendant
(while under contract with a Nightsider named Gerentex). Since its crew joined Andromeda, the Maru was traditionally kept in Andromedas shuttle bays, being used when the crew need to carry out scouting missions or sneak attacks due to its smaller size. Traditionally it is taken out by Beka during these missions, although Dylan has been known to pilot the ship on occasion.
This is potentially explained by the fact that the Maru was built by Beka Valentine's father and his business partner Sid. The term 'Eureka!' would seem appropriate for non-professional ship builders who manage to put together a ship.
There is also a strong possibility that the original name may have been the Yurika Maru -- "Yurika" being a Japanese proper name—which is more consistent with a Japanese designation than an arbitrary Ancient Greek word with tenuous if any relevance to a freighter. If this were the case, it is unclear whether the phonetic transposition was an error on the part of the writers, to whom the name may have been only spoken, or if it is deliberately intended to have happened in the realm of the fictional Andromeda universe.
However, Beka herself has called the Maru a 'salvage ship' on at least one occasion. "I have found it!" does indeed make some sense viewed in this light.
Starship
A starship or interstellar spacecraft is a theoretical spacecraft designed for traveling between the stars, as opposed to a vehicle designed for orbital spaceflight or interplanetary travel....
in the television series Andromeda
Andromeda (TV series)
Andromeda is a Canadian-American science fiction television series, based on unused material by the late Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, developed by Robert Hewitt Wolfe, and produced by Roddenberry's widow, Majel Barrett Roddenberry. It starred Kevin Sorbo as High Guard Captain Dylan Hunt...
. The Maru is a cargo ship
Cargo ship
A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...
owned by Beka Valentine.
Ship technical aspects
The Eureka Maru is a slipstreamSlipstream (science fiction)
"Slipstream" is a science fiction term for a fictional method of faster-than-light space travel, similar to hyperspace travel, warp drive, or "transfer points" from David Brin's Uplift series.-Usage in Star Trek:...
-capable cargo ship and is armed with laser
Laser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation...
s and missile
Missile
Though a missile may be any thrown or launched object, it colloquially almost always refers to a self-propelled guided weapon system.-Etymology:The word missile comes from the Latin verb mittere, meaning "to send"...
s, and has a three engine thrust system.
Beka has spoken to the Maru on many occasions throughout the series, and in episode 18 of season 4, the Maru appears to creak in response, despite the ship's lack of artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
. The Maru computer system responds to commands and inquiries in a manner similar to modern day computers, although it is primarily accessed through vocal commands.
The Maru is about 42 metres in length, judged by the scale of people against it as seen in episode 8 of season 5. It weighs approximately 12,000 tonnes.
Ship history
Beka Valentine and her crew often use the ship to make risky and illegal cargo runs, before rescuing Dylan Hunt from a black holeBlack hole
A black hole is a region of spacetime from which nothing, not even light, can escape. The theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass will deform spacetime to form a black hole. Around a black hole there is a mathematically defined surface called an event horizon that...
and joining his crew. The ship was built by Beka's father, Ignatius Valentine, and his friend Sid Barry.
Sid left the Maru crew when Beka was a child, after a fight between him and Ignatius. Beka has spent most of her life on the Maru, and it has been implied that she was born on board. She is very protective of the Maru and would never allow it to be destroyed; she also hates it when people insult the ship, including Dylan Hunt's frequent use of the term "bucket of bolts".
In episode 4 of series 1, Dylan states that Beka was captain of the Maru for 10 years, meaning she received official command of the ship from her father in CY 10077; in episode 16 of series 4, Harper states that possession of the Maru fell to Beka in CY 10081, the year her father died. Beka's original crew was composed solely of herself and her boyfriend Bobby Jensen; they later broke up and he was replaced by Seamus Harper as the ship's engineer (after he was hired by Bobby for a one-time deal on Earth). Rev Bem joined shortly after this and then another crew member named Vexpag was hired, however he died when his environmental suit ripped. He was replaced by Trance Gemini shortly before they found the Andromeda Ascendant
Andromeda Ascendant
The Andromeda Ascendant is a fictional starship in the television series Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda.In the series, the ship is said to have begun her life in the Newport News Orbital Shipyards above Earth, where her keel was laid in CY 9768...
(while under contract with a Nightsider named Gerentex). Since its crew joined Andromeda, the Maru was traditionally kept in Andromedas shuttle bays, being used when the crew need to carry out scouting missions or sneak attacks due to its smaller size. Traditionally it is taken out by Beka during these missions, although Dylan has been known to pilot the ship on occasion.
Etymology
Although the origin of the name of the ship Eureka Maru is never mentioned in the series, or any official literature springing from it, here are some facts that may provide clues to where the name comes from:- Heureka (often today spelled: eurekaEureka (word)"Eureka" is an interjection used to celebrate a discovery, a transliteration of a word attributed to Archimedes.-Etymology:The word comes from ancient Greek εὕρηκα heúrēka "I have found ", which is the 1st person singular perfect indicative active of the verb heuriskō "I find"...
) means "I have found it!" in Ancient Greek.
This is potentially explained by the fact that the Maru was built by Beka Valentine's father and his business partner Sid. The term 'Eureka!' would seem appropriate for non-professional ship builders who manage to put together a ship.
- The word maru is often attached to Japanese ship names. See Japanese ship naming conventionsJapanese ship naming conventionsJapanese ship naming conventions are different from those in the West. Japanese warships have never been named after people. Prior to World War II, Japanese ship naming conventions underwent several changes before being settled.- Merchant ships :...
. - The Kobayashi MaruKobayashi MaruThe Kobayashi Maru is a test in the fictional universe of Star Trek. It is a Starfleet training exercise designed to test the character of cadets in the command track at Starfleet Academy. The Kobayashi Maru test was first depicted in the opening scene of the film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan...
is a StarfleetStarfleetIn the fictional universe of Star Trek, Starfleet or the Federation Starfleet is the deep-space exploratory, peacekeeping and military service maintained by the United Federation of Planets . It is the principal means by which the Federation conducts its exploration, defense, diplomacy and research...
test that first appears in the movie Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Gene Roddenberry is the creator of both the Star Trek and Andromeda universes. - Maruts (Sanskrit) are storm gods, company of IndraIndra' or is the King of the demi-gods or Devas and Lord of Heaven or Svargaloka in Hindu mythology. He is also the God of War, Storms, and Rainfall.Indra is one of the chief deities in the Rigveda...
. - The Komagata MaruKomagata MaruThe Komagata Maru incident involved a Japanese steamship, the Komagata Maru, that sailed from Hong Kong to Shanghai, China; Yokohama, Japan; and then to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, in 1914, carrying 376 passengers from Punjab, India. The 356 of passengers were not allowed to land in...
incident which occurred in British Columbia, in Canada — coincidentally where much of Canadian Filming, including Andromeda, is filmed.
There is also a strong possibility that the original name may have been the Yurika Maru -- "Yurika" being a Japanese proper name—which is more consistent with a Japanese designation than an arbitrary Ancient Greek word with tenuous if any relevance to a freighter. If this were the case, it is unclear whether the phonetic transposition was an error on the part of the writers, to whom the name may have been only spoken, or if it is deliberately intended to have happened in the realm of the fictional Andromeda universe.
However, Beka herself has called the Maru a 'salvage ship' on at least one occasion. "I have found it!" does indeed make some sense viewed in this light.
Crew
Crew of the Eureka Maru at the time of rescuing Dylan Hunt:- Captain Beka Valentine
- Trance Gemini
- Seamus Harper
- Rev Bem