The Firefly and Serenity Database
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|carried vessels=Two squadrons of [[Alliance Short Range Enforcement Vessel]]s{{Ref|<ref name="Serenity RPG" />}}
 
|carried vessels=Two squadrons of [[Alliance Short Range Enforcement Vessel]]s{{Ref|<ref name="Serenity RPG" />}}
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{{Quote|We have incoming! Alliance cruiser, bearing right down on us!|Hoburn "Wash" Washburne|Serenity (episode)}}
 
{{Quote|We have incoming! Alliance cruiser, bearing right down on us!|Hoburn "Wash" Washburne|Serenity (episode)}}
 
 
The '''[[I.A.V.]] ''Dortmunder''''' was an [[Iskellian Technology Solutions]] [[Tohoku-class cruiser|''Tohoku''-class cruiser]] that served the [[Anglo-Sino Alliance]] in [[2517]]. While on patrol in the Rim, the ''Dortmunder'' came upon a derelict [[Unidentified Vanderdecken-class heavy cargo carrier|''Vanderdecken''-class heavy cargo carrier]]. The wreckage of the ship was the target of an illegal salvage operation perpetrated by the crew of the [[Firefly-class transport ship|''Firefly''-class transport ship]] ''[[Serenity (ship)|Serenity]]''. The crew, contracted by an individual named [[Badger]], had been hired to steal cases of foodstuffs that had survived in airtight sections.
 
The '''[[I.A.V.]] ''Dortmunder''''' was an [[Iskellian Technology Solutions]] [[Tohoku-class cruiser|''Tohoku''-class cruiser]] that served the [[Anglo-Sino Alliance]] in [[2517]]. While on patrol in the Rim, the ''Dortmunder'' came upon a derelict [[Unidentified Vanderdecken-class heavy cargo carrier|''Vanderdecken''-class heavy cargo carrier]]. The wreckage of the ship was the target of an illegal salvage operation perpetrated by the crew of the [[Firefly-class transport ship|''Firefly''-class transport ship]] ''[[Serenity (ship)|Serenity]]''. The crew, contracted by an individual named [[Badger]], had been hired to steal cases of foodstuffs that had survived in airtight sections.
   
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The I.A.V. ''Dortmunder'' appeared in the original pilot episode of ''[[Firefly]]'', entitled ''[[Serenity (episode)|Serenity]]''. It was the first Anglo-Sino Alliance capital ship to be shown on screen.
 
The I.A.V. ''Dortmunder'' appeared in the original pilot episode of ''[[Firefly]]'', entitled ''[[Serenity (episode)|Serenity]]''. It was the first Anglo-Sino Alliance capital ship to be shown on screen.
   
The name ''Dortmunder'' may be a a reference to the [[Wikipedia:Germany|German]] city of [[Wikipedia:Dortmund|Dortmund]]. It may also refer to the fictional character of [[Wikipedia:John Dortmunder|John Dortmunder]], the principal antagonist in a series of novels by [[Wikipedia:Donald E. Westlake|Donald E. Westlake]]. Dortmunder is a petty criminal, which ties in with the nature of the main characters on the show.
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The name ''Dortmunder'' may be a reference to the [[Wikipedia:Germany|German]] city of [[Wikipedia:Dortmund|Dortmund]]. It may also refer to the fictional character of [[Wikipedia:John Dortmunder|John Dortmunder]], the principal antagonist in a series of novels by [[Wikipedia:Donald E. Westlake|Donald E. Westlake]]. Dortmunder is a petty criminal, which ties in with the nature of the main characters on the show.
   
 
==Appearances==
 
==Appearances==
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==Notes and references==
 
==Notes and references==
 
{{Reflist}}
 
{{Reflist}}
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[[Category:Anglo-Sino Alliance starships]]
 
[[Category:Anglo-Sino Alliance starships]]

Revision as of 06:07, 18 October 2009

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IAVDortmunder
name
General Plans and Schematics
Class

Iskellian Technology Solutions Tohoku-class cruiser[1]

Owner

Anglo-Sino Alliance[2]

Statistics
Price

500,000,000 Credits[1]

Ship length

1,200 feet[1]

Ship width

1,000 feet[1]

Ship height

2,500 feet[1]

Fuel capacity

55,000 tons[1]

Crew capacity

40 (minimum)[1]

Passenger capacity

40,000[1]

Carried vessels

Two squadrons of Alliance Short Range Enforcement Vessels[1]

"We have incoming! Alliance cruiser, bearing right down on us!"
―Hoburn "Wash" Washburne[src]

The I.A.V. Dortmunder was an Iskellian Technology Solutions Tohoku-class cruiser that served the Anglo-Sino Alliance in 2517. While on patrol in the Rim, the Dortmunder came upon a derelict Vanderdecken-class heavy cargo carrier. The wreckage of the ship was the target of an illegal salvage operation perpetrated by the crew of the Firefly-class transport ship Serenity. The crew, contracted by an individual named Badger, had been hired to steal cases of foodstuffs that had survived in airtight sections.

The commanding officer of the Dortmunder initially ordered the vessel's ASREV gunships launched to intercept and capture the transport. the Dortmunder then received a distress signal from a personnel carrier thirteen kilometers from their current location. The captain countermanded his order to launch the gunships, setting course to aid the stricken ship. However, the call for help was actually a ruse perpetrated by the crew of the Serenity through the use of a cry baby—a piece of equipment rigged to transmit a fake distress call—to allow them to escape capture by the Alliance.

Description

The I.A.V. Dortmunder was an Iskellian Technology Solutions Tohoku-class cruiser,[1] featuring the four vertical towers that rose from the base of the vessel and the inverted landing field and control tower that were indicative of the class design.[2] Essentially a mobile city in space, the Dortmunder was lightly armed and armored, relying on the presence of two squadrons of Alliance Short Range Enforcement Vessels for offensive and defensive actions.[1]

At a price of half a billion credits, the Dortmunder had a maintenance running cost of 50 million credits a year. Over 40,000 personnel could be accommodated on board the ship, including a minimum crew of forty naval personnel, as well as information and development specialists, economists and financiers, administrators and support staff.[1]

History

The I.A.V. Dortmunder was a Tohoku-class cruiser in the service of the Anglo-Sino Alliance. In 2517, the Dortmunder was on patrol in the Rim planets when it came into range of a Vanderdecken-class heavy cargo carrier that had been blown out several months before. The Dortmunder's sensors detected the wreckage, and the vessel's commanding officer requested information.[2] An ensign[3] relayed the data regarding the carrier to the captain,[2] including the fact that the wreckage had been scoured by locals soon after the event and that there was no possibility of survivors in the debris. Passing the derelict, the captain called for a moment of respect from the crew as they were passing a graveyard.[3]

Dortmunder crew

Crewmembers of the I.A.V. Dortmunder.

As the Dortmunder slid past the derelict, an officer detected a residual heat signal on the ship. The crew of the Serenity, a Firefly-class transport ship, had been hired by an individual named Badger to liberate several crates of energy bars that had survived the vessel's destruction in an air-sealed container. Despite shutting down all power to their vessel, the Dortmunder's sensors had detected them, and ordered a further sweep of the area. Detecting the active scan, the captain of the Serenity, Malcolm Reynolds ordered his pilot, Hoban Washburne, to make a run for it. As the Serenity disengaged from the derelict—with its crew members and illegal salvage on board—the Dortmunder's sensors detected the transport, identifying its class.[2]

The captain of the Dortmunder ordered the vessel's ASREV gunships to be launched to intercept and capture the transport. However, as the Dortmunder's gunships prepared to launch, the vessel began to receive a distress call from a personnel carrier that was without power. The captain of the Dortmunder, realizing that the gunships would never make it back to the ship in time if they were launched after the transport, ordered the ship to set course for the source of the distress call to rescue them. He ordered his ensign to put a bulletin on the Cortex regarding a Firefly-class transport ship carrying suspected illegal cargo, and to notify Interpol as well. He hoped that someone else would be able to deal with the salvagers.[2]

Unfortunately for the Dortmunder, the vessel had been tricked by the crew of the Serenity. The distress call had been a ruse in the form of an automated beacon known as a cry baby, which had been rigged to transmit a fake distress call. The crew of the Serenity had set the device up thirteen kilometers from the site of the derelict cargo carrier in case they were discovered in the act to give them a chance of escaping capture by the Alliance.[2]

Behind the scenes

The I.A.V. Dortmunder appeared in the original pilot episode of Firefly, entitled Serenity. It was the first Anglo-Sino Alliance capital ship to be shown on screen.

The name Dortmunder may be a reference to the German city of Dortmund. It may also refer to the fictional character of John Dortmunder, the principal antagonist in a series of novels by Donald E. Westlake. Dortmunder is a petty criminal, which ties in with the nature of the main characters on the show.

Appearances

Sources

Notes and references