The Best Deaths for Ships in Sci-Fi

[Eternal_Freedom]

What do you think are the best deaths for ships in sci-fi? The ones that go out in a blaze of glory of course. But there are so many. Which ones do you think are the absolute best?

I submit the Battlestar Pegasus from the original series, as the nBSG version was commanded by a moron. Charges out, takes a beating but flies on nonetheless to a point-blank slugging match. And did it really die? Who knows

So, SD.net, what are the best deaths for ships in sci-fi?

[Sinewmire]

The SJ Satanas vs the GTVA Colossus, Freespace 2

The previous mission, you have to take out the Satanas' four main forward beam weapons in order to give The Colussus, the Terran-Vasudan alliance's huge one-of-a-kind supership, a fighting chance.

Freespace 2's climax, is the next mission - the Satanas versus the Colossus. Freespace's selling point was the size of thse ships, and as a fighter/bomber, you are dodging around amongst these vast behemoths.

Throughout the battle the two ships trade punishing beam fire, all of which is instant death to a fighter, and both launch wings of bombers and attack craft. You, the player, must command bomber wings to take out the Satanas' weapons points, and fighter wings to see of the swarms of Mara class fighters. Throughout the battle, you recieve comm-static from the Colossus detailing structural damage, crew losses, reactor overloads etc.

It's a hard, bloody fight, but the Colossus is victorious: the Satanas begins to break up, and drift lifelessly. You reach safe distance, sit back, sweat-soaked and elated. Freespaec 2's big baddy is going down.

Then another one comes through the jump gate.

And another.

There are 13.

Fuckkkkkkk, you think. And you are right.

[Stark]

The Bebop, Cowboy Bebop. 'Find what you lost and get it back'. Exciting and dramatic.

[Deathstalker]

The Macross/SDF1. An old warhorse put out to pasture, called on for one more fight, gives all she's got but it's still not enough to prevent her destruction.

[Lord of the Abyss]

The death of the original White Star from Babylon 5. Called down by Sheridan with a ticking nuke on board, crashing through the overhead dome of the Shadows' city as Sheridan flings himself into the bottomless pit. And the thing that used to be his wife having just enough time to look up and scream.

[Eternal_Freedom]

From the SW EU: The SSD Lusankya. Spends years working for the Empire, kills hundreds of millions escaping her prison, then in her final hours, bombards the Vong ground forces into oblivion and after being fitted out, rams and destroys a worldship. Kickass

[Captain Seafort]

Two Enterprises: the E-nil is SFS and the E-D in Yesterday's Enterprise. The former is mainly because she was the E-nil, although the choreographing of the scene does no harm at all. The later is epitomised by Picard's reaction to being told to surrender - leaping the tactical rail, taking down one of the cruisers, and standing on defiant as the flames rose.

[Eternal_Freedom]

Ummm, what do you mean when you say "The former is mainly because she was the E-nil?" I don't get what you mean

[Captain Seafort]

Fixed. I could have sworn I'd removed that bit, but on second thoughts I'll put them both forward.

[Nephtys]

The Macross/SDF1. An old warhorse put out to pasture, called on for one more fight, gives all she's got but it's still not enough to prevent her destruction.

Except the SDF-1 survives and is refurbished into Earth's new space defense headquarters for the next 70 years...

The destruction of TCS Victory in Wing Commander 3 if you play down the losing track is pretty impressive. While you're flying a suicide hold-out-at-all-costs last defense of Earth against the massive Kilrathi Armada, that beat up old light carrier goes out with a great bang.

[The Romulan Republic]

The original Enterprise, I guess.

I also think the defeat of the Executor in Return of the Jedi was pretty impressive.

[TOSDOC]

I enjoyed nBSG Pegasus' last charge, and was glad to see she took more than one Basestar with her. That was definitely a chess move, sacrificing one of your powerful pieces to win the game.

Exeter going down in flames was great in This Island Earth--you really feel for the guy. Then I saw it in MST3K, and all I can think now is "Oh, pay no attention to me, I'm just some swamp gas..."

For Enterprise's destruction in STIII, we were witness to the death of a character. I saw it in the theater, and there wasn't a dry eye in the whole place.

I still think the last of the 4 TIE fighters that Han takes out with the turret gun in ANH is the best, most well-done sci-fi explosion ever. And no CGI!

[Stark]

If the waste of the Pegasus was a 'chess move', I guess the destruction of the Liberator as deadly Space Fungus consumes the ship with the evil President on board is pretty awesome too.

[Eternal_Freedom]

As came up in my companion thread about the worst ship deaths:

The nBSG Galactica, for being an old bucket called on to go above and beyond one last time, and doing so spectacularly, before finally being allowed to bow out and die

[Batman]

I'll happily second the departure of the White Star and the E Nil, as well as the kinda death of the E-D in Yesterdays's Enterprise.
I'd also like to mention the Churchill in B5's Severed Dreams. 'Yeah, so maybe we're toast, but guess what-so are you.'

[The Dark]

The Macross/SDF1. An old warhorse put out to pasture, called on for one more fight, gives all she's got but it's still not enough to prevent her destruction.

Except the SDF-1 survives and is refurbished into Earth's new space defense headquarters for the next 70 years...

Depends on which continuity you follow...it was destroyed in Macek's kludge-fest, and in Macross II, but was still in use in Macross Plus and Macross Frontier. That means that within the original timeline, it survives until at least 2059, but in Robotech was destroyed in 2014, and in Macross II was destroyed in 2092.

[j.eller]

Not sure that it's "glorious" as such, but the destruction of the Dark Star from the film 'Dark Star'.
Ending with an argument with a self aware nuke...

[Skylon]

As came up in my companion thread about the worst ship deaths:

The nBSG Galactica, for being an old bucket called on to go above and beyond one last time, and doing so spectacularly, before finally being allowed to bow out and die

Did you post this one on both, best and worst? =P

Contrived nature of scrapping the fleet aside, I did like Galactica's fate. It did exactly what Adama said before they charged Galactica into its last battle that "if we succeed in our mission Galactica will bring us home." It did just that, then was allowed to die, shepherding the fleet on its final voyage (okay, maybe they shouldn't have flown with her, but it made for a really nice FX shot).

The USCSS Nostromo in "Alien" gets points for being one of the most absurdly large space ship explosions ever.

Since the Executor has been mentioned, I'll also add Green Leader's A-Wing that brought down the mighty Executor.

[Eternal_Freedom]

I originally posted the Big G in the "worst" thread because of how the humans shit on her efforts to save civilisation, but after Mayabird's comments I decided to put it here as well

[LadyTevar]

The USS Promethius (SG1). Nit and I both cried as she went out in the blaze of glory.

[Imperial528]

The Gantrithor from the original StarCraft. A great ending for an immense battle, and a heroic sacrifice by a warrior and his flagship.

[Stargate Nerd]

The Gantrithor from the original StarCraft. A great ending for an immense battle, and a heroic sacrifice by a warrior and his flagship.

Oh god yes. I've always loved the story and characters of StarCraft. Possibly because I was so young when it came out and it was one of the first epic SciFi stories I experienced. That ending is amazing.

I also want to mention the Beliskner (spelling), and how she took a whole bunch of Replicators with her into a fiery death.

[Omeganian]

Raphael from "The Rise of Endymion". Took on fifty ships equal to it, by the time it was gone, so were seven enemies.

Sovereign and perhaps the first Normandy from Mass Effect.

I wonder if one should count the battlecruiser from "Foundation". It didn't really "die", but the results were certainly impressive.

[Count Chocula]

My vote for best death goes to the destruction of Babylon 5 in the series' finale "Sleeping in Light." I was a huge fan of the series (hell, still have two seasons on VHS!) and the scuttling of Bab5 was a sad but fitting coda. That episode was magnificent.

[CaptJodan]

nBSG's Pegasus and Galactica were both positive deaths in my opinion. Hero ship deaths should be heroic in some fashion, fighting against overwhelming odds and taking a good portion of the enemy out with their sacrifices, and I think both ships qualified. I like to think they were Moore's attempt to redeem himself after what he did with the Enterprise D (or at least learning from that mistake).

While not technically a ship, it was kind of acting somewhat like one at the end of its life. The Elench drone that escaped from the manifested Excession in its parent ship, only to get intercepted by the Affront and give them a big fuck you before dying itself.

There's a lot of "fuck you" deaths in Banks, though.