Eureka Maru

The Eureka Maru is a fictional space vessel and a supplementary craft featured in the science fiction television series Andromeda. Owned and operated by former salvage expert Beka Valentine, it first appeared in the series' pilot episode "Under the Night".

The Eureka Maru was a salvage vessel owned and operated by Captain Beka Valentine. Her original crew consisted of Chief Engineer Seamus Harper and Environmental/Life Support Officer Vexpag. The ship had three aft engines that it used for standard propulsion, but also maintained a slipstream drive for traversing longer distances.

During an assignment, the crew were boarding another ship, but Vexpag's pressure suit had a malfunctioning seal and he was killed after being exposed to the depressurized airlock of the other ship. Beka replaced Vexpag with the perky, youthful alien known as Trance Gemini.

In the year CY 10087, a Nightsider pirate named Gerentex hired the crew of the Maru to locate a legendary lost High Guard starship called the Andromeda Ascendant. After negotiating for a fee, the crew of the Maru found the Andromeda frozen on the edge of the event horizon of a black hole in the Hephaistos System. Using the ship's bucky cables, Beka was able to pull it back a safe distance, allowing her the ability to dock with the ship. The crew soon discovered that the Andromeda 's original captain, Dylan Hunt, was still alive despite being held in suspended animation in the black hole for more than three-hundred years. Gerentex sent Beka's crew as well as his own team of mercenaries to board the ship with the intent of elminating Captain Hunt.

When the Andromeda 's A.I. computer mainframe Rommie discovered the intruders, she began tapping into the Maru 's systems. Rather than risk having his escape route compromised, Gerentex decided to abduct Seamus Harper and steal the Maru. He turned the ship about and used it to nudge the Andromeda back towards the black hole. As he piloted the ship away, Seamus vented some ion particles, leaving a trail that Beka and the others could easily follow. Beka made peace with Dylan Hunt and they used the Andromeda to track down the Maru. Gerentex was apprehended and Beka reclaimed her ship.

Crew

 * Beka Valentine - Captain
 * Seamus Harper - Chief Engineer
 * Trance Gemini - Environmental/Life Support Officer
 * Vexpag - Environmental/Life Support Officer (formerly)

Hardware

 * Bucky cables: Highly durable towing cables used for transporting vessels. The tensile strength of the Bucky cables are sufficient to pull vessels several sizes larger than the Maru.

Notes & Trivia

 * The concept behind the Andromeda Ascendant was developed by series creators Gene Roddenberry and Robert Hewitt Wolfe.


 * Often referred to simply as The Maru.