Leviathan transport ship

A Leviathan transport ship is a fictional space vessel and alien life form featured in the 1999-2003 science fiction television series Farscape. They are also referred to by the model classification Leviathan-class. Leviathan ships are huge biomechanoid creatures that are quasi-sentient and also serve as passenger vessels. Leviathans are generally bred and raised by the authoritative body known as the Peacekeepers. To keep Leviathans from acting independently of the will of the Peackeepers, they are usually outfitted with control collars that prohibit rogue actions, forcing them and their pilots to abide by the commands of the Peacekeepers.

Leviathan ships are bonded with a pilot, a sentient race of beings developed specifically for the sole task of operating a Leviathan ship's flight and control systems. Bereft of any proper name and referred to only as Pilot, these beings are cybernetically fused with the internal workings of a Leviathan and reside within a special chamber within the bowels of the ship. Pilot not only monitors and maintains a Leviathan's systems, but also communicates with her via a symbionic relationship with the vessel and translates her feelings, desires and/or commands to the rest of the ship's crew and passengers.

As a Pilot cannot leave his cockpit station, maintenance on a Leviathan is performed by a series of small robotic support tools known as DRDs (diagnostic repair drones). When not needed, these drones remain inert in special housings behind the corridor walls of the ship. DRDs perform routine maintenance functions, effect minor repairs and bascially execute any and all tasks that either Pilot or a crew member may be incapable of performing on their own.

On Farscape, the most well known Leviathan-class ship is Moya, who serves as one of the central settings of the series. At the beginning of the series, three escaped prisoners, Pa'u Zotoh Zhaan, Ka D'Argo and Dominar Rygel XVI escape from the Peackeepers by stealing Moya and releasing her control collar. During their escape, they pick up two unexpected and unwelcome passengers - the spatially displaced Earth astronaut John Crichton and the excommunicated Peacekeeper Aeryn Sun. The majority of the crew's adventures on Moya take place in a region of space called the Uncharted Territories.

Leviathan ships are capable of giving birth to other Leviathans, such was the case with Moya who, early in season one, became pregnant with a Leviathan that came to be known as Talyn. Talyn was much smaller than Moya and much more aggressive. Fitted with an arsenal of weaponry, Talyn eventually fell under the control of former Peacekeeper Captain Bialar Crais, who formed a symbionic relationship with the ship.