Ark (Starship)

The Ark (アーク, Āku), also known as Project Generation One, is an object that appears in DC Series. It was the massive city-sized spaceship built under the orders of Optimus Prime so that the Autobots could travel far from Cybertron on during the Great Exodus and search for the lost AllSpark before the Decepticons got to it. Unlike other galactic transports, the Ark was extremely large, and had other special modifications made by the science and intel divisions, such as its gold color, as other transports were gray.

It has at least one shuttle that can be used to deploy small teams without landing the larger vessel. It has five decks and houses a full crew complement of 300 Transformers (although it can be flown by only a handful if necessary). It is able to launch protoforms to nearby planets and features sophisticated sensor equipment which was used to track down the AllSpark's energy signal.

Its environment is fully automated and self-sufficient. For engines, it features 4 Hyperfuel Intake Accelerators. It is armed with 16 particle-combustion cannons (port), 16 laser emitters (starboard), a primary starfield missile launcher, and an Overshock sonic battery.

"“I have commissioned a new galactic transport for us, an Ark, in which we shall make our journey through the stars."
 * —Optimus Prime, on the Ark.

Crew

 * Optimus Prime (captain)
 * Jazz
 * Bumblebee
 * Cliffjumper
 * Gears
 * Huffer
 * Windcharger
 * Hound
 * Ironhide
 * Mirage
 * Hubcap
 * Brawn
 * Blaster
 * Trailbreaker
 * Smokescreen
 * Ratchet
 * Bluestreak
 * Kup
 * Sideswipe (pilot)
 * Perceptor
 * Sunstreaker
 * Arcee
 * Chromia
 * Drift
 * Prowl
 * Cosmos
 * Wrecker Team
 * Wheeljack
 * Bulkhead
 * Rack'n'Ruin
 * Dinobots]
 * Volcanicus
 * Grimlock (leader; torso)
 * Snarl (tactician; left arm)
 * Swoop (scout; right arm)
 * Slug (analyst, engineer, and medic; left leg)
 * Sludge (logistician; right leg)
 * Scorn
 * Slash
 * Aerialbots
 * Superion
 * Silverbolt
 * Air Raid
 * Slingshot
 * Skydive
 * Fireflight
 * Jetfire
 * Jetstorm
 * Multiple Autotroopers
 * Many other unidentified Autobot soldiers
 * Titans
 * Heavy Soldiers

Beginning the Construction
When it was discovered the Megatron sought to use Vector Sigma to reprogram the AllSpark, the Autobots launched the sacred relic through a space bridge to parts unknown.

With the AllSpark gone however, Cybertron's condition began to decline prompting Optimus Prime to commission a new ship to take them off Cybertron when it was time for them to leave, as well as locate and retrieve the missing artifact.

During the War
Other Vanguard-class deep space interceptor ships, pretty much identical to the Ark, are seen taking refugees from Cybertron during the Great Exodus. It is suspected that the settlers of known Autobot colonies such as Paradron were among these.

Classified as built using "die-cast" construction (though referred to by Megatron as a "glorified cargo hauler"), the Ark was larger and more streamlined in design than previous galactic transports. According to Sideswipe's evaluations, the Ark possessed insufficient armor plating and was armed with only 16 particle combustion cannons and 16 laser emitters, though a series of twin-barreled pulse cannons were seen to be activated during the Nemesis' attack. It did however possess an "adequate" propulsion system, leading to the conclusion that it was meant to outrun and evade instead of going in guns blazing. The Ark's main purpose was more spiritual than practical: to carry the Autobots' hopes and dreams from a dying Cybertron. One of the two known copies of the Covenant of Primus was carried aboard.

Dark Spark Incident
As he and Optimus drove towards Kolkular, Jazz pondered letting Megatron keep the Dark Spark in light of their imminent exodus from Cybertron. Optimus responded that the Ark was still under construction and that should Megatron master the dark relic's power, he would doubtlessly use it to destroy their escape ship.

Departure and Downfall
The Ark's crew included a group of the Autobots' "finest heroes", and some of Optimus's most trusted comrades such as Bumblebee, Ratchet, Ironhide, Jetfire, Air Raid, Grimlock, and Silverbolt, the former exchanging a heartfelt goodbye with his friend Windblade when the time for launch under the command of Optimus Prime came. As the Ark sailed through space, the voyage ran afoul of two colliding asteroids.

Then, the Ark found itself confronted by the command flagship of the Decepticon fleet and the two ships engaged in a fierce battle that was abruptly concluded when both passed through an unstable energy cloud. Both ships were damaged and fell into the gravity well of the nearby planet Earth. Unwilling to endanger life, the Ark would be placed on auto-pilot while the crew got into the emergency stasis pods and went into stasis lock.

To preserve the Ark's data and assist any of the crew who would survive the crash, Teletraan-1 ejected Teletraan-X from the ship before impact. Out of control, the Ark crashed to Earth, smashing into a semi-active volcano in what would eventually become a desert. The exact location is unknown, but closely resembled the American southwest. There it rested until a volcanic eruption four million years later reactivated it and its inhabitants. But the crash caused irreparable damage to Teletraan-1, the AI eventually collapsing over the eons.

Transformers
The Autobots remaining on Cybertron soon began to wonder what transpired of the lost ship. When the Decepticons theorized that the AllSpark was on Earth, the science division repaired a space bridge enough to send a scout and search party to the organic planet so they could investigate.

Unable to find any of the crew, Teletraan-X instead began looking for the ship itself. When the two friends realized that Maccadam had somehow been able to tell the future, they wondered whether his advice to find "the king of the dinosaurs" was a clue to the Ark's current whereabouts.

After reuniting with the Dinobots, Windblade and the search team learned what had happened to the Ark but remained ignorant of where it was now.

By combining his data with the Dinobots' own search attempts, Teletraan-X was able to extrapolate the Ark's location. Despite facing off against Starscream and Shockwave's forces once again, the Autobots managed to find the lost ship buried in Mount St. Hilary.

Notes & Trivia

 * It is hinted (p. 226-7, 233) that Project Generation One was a contingency plan that had been in place since the Breaking of the Primes and had been a subject of discussion between Prime and Trion after the Core's corruption. Later, Optimus tells Jetfire the Core itself told about Project Generation One (p. 242), though it never uses the term in its entire speech.