PRIDE OF THE SKIES II

Toy Made:   No

Functions:

Home
Transport
Lightning League Base of Operations

Equipment:

• Bridge: The Pride's original bridge is rarely used by the Lightning League, but in times of emergency it can be used to control the ship. The barge's new bridge is Battle Base, which is located on top of the ship's stern.

• Cargo Bay: Huge compartment in the lower part of the ship used to store and repair the Lightning League vehicles. Herc also stores his work tools, the Emergency Cruiser, and the Space Scooter here.

• Emergency Cruiser: The emergency cruiser is a small two-person ship used for escaping the barge in a hurry. It has a front laser gun and retractable wings. It also has a spacesuit with its own oxygen supply and a large axe sharp enough to hack through Monster Mind vines. The cruiser was used to drop defoliant cannisters on Monster Mind vines in Blockade Runners.

• Engines: Used for forward or reverse propulsion. There are four of these engines attached to the rear portion of the Pride, below the Battle Base.

• Extending Corridor: This snakelike device connects the ship to another vessel or building so that people and vehicles can move between the two.

• Hyperdrive: This device is similar to the one used on the Millennium Falcon in Star Wars. It is used to get the barge to a given location at the speed of light.

• Laser Cannon: Located on the front of the Pride, this cannon emits a massive golden laser that rips through metal, Monster Mind vines, and solid rock.

• Ramp: Lowered from the bottom of the ship, the ramp can be used to launch and pick up the Lightning League vehicles. It features an escalator walkway down its center.

• Solar Shields: These devices look like a series of silvery metal sails on the top of the ship. They absorb solar energy to help save fuel on short trips. They can be extended and retracted, and occasionally dematerialize entirely.

• Space Scooter: This is a tiny vehicle than can be used to fly either through the vacuum of space or on atmospheric worlds. The Space Scooter is used primarily for transport and reconnaissance, not combat. It is equipped with a small laser gun and a spacesuit with its own oxygen supply.

• Thrusters: These are used for landings and take-offs. They also allow the Pride to hover and blow away Monster Mind vehicles. They are equipped with special smoke-jets, which can be used to fool others into thinking that the ship is damaged. There are eight to ten of these thrusters located along the bottom of the ship.

• Other Items: The Pride has amethyst shielding to protect it from the Monster Minds' thermal rays, various emergency hatches, a guidance module with a Cobalt-49 crystal to control the ship's direction, individual cabins and rooms, a medical room, a navigational antenna, side launchers that eject satellites, a storage room, a water pump, and a water tank. The Pride also has armor plating, artificial gravity, a brig, an isolation room, life support systems, a lifeform scanner, and a radar dish. The barge uses stabilizers to help to correct the ship's direction and/or position if it begins shaking.

Appearance:

The Pride of the Skies II is a gigantic, metallic Spanish Galleon on landing struts. Its golden-tan body is in the shape of a rather portly oval. The landing gear remain extended at all times. The top of the stern houses Battle Base, the ship's primary bridge. Enormous silver solar panels, which look like sails, usually tower over the body of the ship. There are few observable windows and decks, as the entire ship is covered with armor plating. The prow has a spiked extension that can be used to tear through Monster Mind vines.

Strengths:

The Pride may look large and bulky, but thanks to its hyperdrive, it is actually quite fast. It can withstand a great deal of punishment before it needs serious repair work. As the barge is a cargo ship, it has plenty of room for storing supplies and transporting the vehicles. The barge can be submerged underwater for short periods, thanks to its thick armor and special closing panels that protect the engines, thrusters, and interior areas.

Weaknesses:

The Pride depends on outside fuel to make its journeys, and thus must be refueled from time to time. The ship's one design flaw is that it cannot make a sharp turn to starboard, though Herc has discovered that if he reverses the controls, making such a turn becomes "a piece of cake." The Pride's original bridge proved to be insufficient for the Lightning League's needs, and thus Battle Base now acts as the ship's control center. Though the Pride usually manages to get the Lightning League where it needs to go, it has an irritating tendency to break down at the worst possible moment.

History:

The barge was originally introduced by Herc in the episode Escape from the Garden as the Pride of the Skies. Later this name was changed to the Pride of the Skies II -- presumably this means that either the ship underwent modifications after Herc joined the Lightning League or he left the "II" out the first time. The Pride is not only the League's primary form of transportation, but their base of operations and their home away from home. The ship is seen in every episode.

It has no visible personality or consciousness, but Herc consistently refers to it as his "girl," so it may be presumed that the Pride is female in its own inanimate way. This reflects a tendency of seafarers throughout history to always refer to their ships as female.