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Eureka

SCS Eureka

Type/class:
Captain:
  • Previous Captain (fell out the airlock)
  • Roger Wilco (until Eureka's destruction)
Crew:
Origin:

StarCon

Games seen or mentioned in:

SQ5

Locations seen or mentioned in:

Most of SQ5

Defenses:
Weapons:

Torpedos

Max speed:

Light speed

Price

Unknown

The SCS Eureka is both a light fighter and a refuse disposal ship. As a Hoover Class garbage scow, it is equipped with a Refuse Recovery System (RRS), the primary means to fulfill its designated mission to collect space trash.

Background[]

She was commissioned at the time of the DustBunny Wars centuries ago.[1] At the time of the Pukoid affair, it was captained by Roger Wilco. Droole had the conn, while Flo held ops. Cliffy was chief engineer, and WD40 was employed as science officer. During the action leading up to the conclusion of the Eureka's assignment, Ambassador Beatrice Wankmeister was rescued and held in the cryochamber.

The Eureka was destroyed with only one casualty: Captain Raems T. Quirk of the SCS Goliath.

Ship sections[]

Bridge[]

The bridge is the nerve center of the Eureka.

The captain's chair, referred to simply as "the chair" by junior officers hoping to become captains themselves, sits in the middle of the Bridge. It seems to be an older chair, and makes lots of noises (such as a fart-like sound) when the Captain sits on it or stands from it. It also can spin freely. Built into the chair's armrest are the controls for communicating with the ship's engineer or science officer, as well as the self-destruct activator, which Cliffy apparently jury-rigged from an Astro Chicken Egg Timer.

When seated in the captain's chair, to the captain's left is the workstation for communications. This is where Gowitda Florence Qwerty works. To the captain's right is the workstation for navigation and weapons. This is where Rumproast Droole works.

On either side of the bridge is a pair of automated workstations, though what exactly they do is unknown to Roger. Above the captain's chair is some humming machinery of unknown function, as well as a smoke detector and an auxiliary smoke detector. In the back of the bridge are two auxillary storage spaces, as well as the door leading to the engineering section of the Eureka.

Pod bay[]

The pod Bay is probably one of the least used areas on the ship. None of the crew likes to come down here because it's where the previous captain of the Eureka had his "accident." It is entered by taking the elevator down from the engineering section of the ship.

Along the same wall as the elevator is some storage space. Two pressure suits are kept here. One was Cliffy's favorite until the seat ripped out on his last tour of duty. The other is meant for the captain, but it's much too small for Roger. There is also storage space for Rebreather Masks and an oxygen tank.

In the center of the pod bay is a Star Roamer EVA meant for emergency repairs and rescue missions. Behind the EVA is a pedestal that contains several override controls for access to the elevator and the airlock. Use caution when accessing this, however, as careless use of this could result in Roger's suffering the same fate as the previous captain. There used to be an intercom system in the pedestal, but Cliffy scavenged the speaker and microphone to hook it up to the Eureka's toilet. When the rest of the crew balked at having to yell "Bombs Away!" every time they used the facilities, he attached it to the transporter unit instead.

Engineering[]

Exiting from the bridge leads you to the engineering section of the Eureka. This is Cliffy's domain, and he's more at home here than a game programmer is at his computer. He can often be found here working on something or other.

Facing away from the bridge, to the left is a service tunnel leading to the Eureka's fuse panel. Cliffy sometimes crawls in here to do work, preventing Roger from doing the same. The ship's fuse panel contains six fuses.

Further up the left wall from the bridge is a button that activates the floor elevator that leads down to the pod bay. Beyond that is the refuse containment compartment, where any trash collected by the Eureka's RSS is stored. A switch beside it allows the chamber to be opened or closed.

Further back is a series of pipes that carry heated water to tanks with cold water in them and cooled water to tanks with hot water in them. Opposite the pipes is Cliffy's toolbox, which contains the gadgets and gizmos Cliffy uses to keep the Eureka spaceworthy.

Finally, to the right of the toolbox is the door leading to the Eureka's Science Lab and Transporter Room.

Science lab and transporter room[]

The transporter room and science lab share the same space. This has led to several "experiments" in the past, although the ship rarely is able to have a science officer. The science station is later manned by WD-40.

This room also houses the Cryogenic cooler, where Cliffy stores his Kerona Lite unless it is occupied. Beatrice Creakworm Wankmeister is put to heal in a pod there

Cliffy tried using a clapper on the transporter unit, but after an accident involving an alien diplomat and a falling wrench, changed to a voice activation feature.

Finally, there is also a Habitube brand adaptive biological specimen container where exotic life forms are kept in restrain for study. Roger later keeps Spike in there.

Plot inconsistencies[]

Eureka's shield usage doesn't always make sense. Having shields up or down has no effect on the attacks of WD40 and the Goliath, weapons use, the RRS, or the EVA Pod, or beaming down to some planets. However, if you try to enter Genetix or Molly's Chug & Glug SpaceBar, or beam down to the colony on Klorox II too early, you won't be able to get through their transporter shields.

When you first get into the Eureka (in the docking bay of StarCon Academy), you can go down to where the pod is and click "Airlock". Although Roger is still inside the bay, the game operates as if you are in outer space. The consequences, needless to say, are not very good for Roger.

When Cliffy goes out to fix the Eureka, he is wearing a spacesuit, but where did he get it? There are two in the pod bay, but the game states that one had the seat of the pants ripped out and the other is too small for Roger. If it's too small for Roger, it's definitely too small for Cliffy. Looks like someone on the design forgot to tie up all the loose ends on this one!

Behind the scenes[]

  • The name "Eureka" is a spoof on a vacuum cleaner brand of the same name.
  • The Eureka also resembles a handheld vacuum cleaner.
  • A display in the transporter room resembles early arcade game Pong.

References[]

  1. The Spacequest Companion, Second Edition, 331
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