USM Valor

"Those who do not bend to the will of Heaven, must instead raise Hell."

—Plaque on the USM Valor^[1]

The USM Valor was a Destroyer-class warship of the Earth Defense Force captained by Commander F. Cadigan. A fifth the size of the USG Ishimura, the Valor possessed formidable firepower and was emblematic of its class. It was ultimately destroyed during Operation: WHITE LIGHT in the Aegis system.

Service Record[]

"CEC vessel USG Ishimura in breach of EarthGov system isolation order. Believed to have recovered Marker 3A. Special Ops has confirmed the system but unable to provide planet location. [...] OBJECTIVES: Secure Marker 3A. If infection is present, initiate sterilization protocol 'EURYDICE'. If infection is not present, initiate containment protocol 'APOLLO'. All personnel must, WITHOUT EXCEPTION, submit to full psychological examination during debriefing."

—The USM Valor's orders.^[2]

CH08 0370 Valor Contact Videolog — Commander Cadigan in his RIGlink message to the *Ishimura*.

The USM Valor was deployed to assist the effort to reclaim Marker 3A undertaken by EarthGov and spearheaded by Kendra Daniels, and so journeyed to the Aegis system to retrieve it from the USG Ishimura. As the location of Aegis VII could not be determined by EarthGov, the warship's instructions were to move to a position out of local scope range once in the system, and await a signal from the Ishimura to confirm its location.^[2] When it managed to raise the Ishimura thanks to the efforts of Isaac Clarke and Daniels, the Valor began to make its way to the planet-cracker and relayed the news that one of the Ishimura's escape pods had been recovered.

CH08_Valor_Killed_by_CHEN_Videolog_DEADSPACE_2023 — CH08 Valor Killed by CHEN Videolog DEADSPACE 2023

The final transmission received from the *Valor* before it crashed into the *Ishimura*.

Unfortunately, this escape pod contained a Necromorph - the reanimated Aiden Chen that CEC operative Zach Hammond had successfully contained and jettisoned via the pod. The Necromorph attacked the Marines on board the Valor, and Commander F. Cadigan was forced to mobilise all personnel against the rapidly spreading infection. The Valor lost control following the deaths of its pilots and helm officers, and listed headlong towards the Ishimura as an explosion was caused by the fighting onboard.^[3] The Valor was seen by Isaac Clarke after he killed the Leviathan Remnant, which was blocking the Ishimura's comms array blast doors, with the armament of the ADS cannons.

DSR USM Valor Crashed Side — The USM *Valor* after crashing into the *Ishimura*.

The Valor crashed, lodging itself into the hull of the Ishimura and causing incalculable damage to the larger ship and itself. Cadigan's personnel fought bravely against the Necromorphs, many of which had been members of their crew,^[4] but with more Necromorphs boarding from the Ishimura after the crash, the tide of battle was with the horde and Cadigan presumably went down along with the rest of the crew.

USG ISHIMURA - USM VALOR ESCAPE POD — The escape pod recovered from the *Ishimura* which contained the reanimated Chen.

DSR USM Valor Briefing Room — Isaac in the crashed *Valor*'s Briefing Room.

Isaac Clarke boarded the Valor to retrieve its singularity core in order to power a shuttle to escape the Ishimura; unfortunately, in the process of doing so, which involved fighting through numerous Necromorphs, including a new breed formed from the ship's complement of Marines - Twitchers - Isaac's compatriot Zach Hammond was killed by Chen's Necromorph form and the Valor's engine was destabilized due to a catastrophic failure of fuel containment, causing substantial damage to the Ishimura. However, the singularity core was successfully retrieved by Isaac despite the damage its removal caused, giving him, Kendra Daniels and Dr. Kyne a chance to escape via a surviving Executive Shuttle.

Daniels would later attribute the role of the Valor to her efforts to retrieve the Red Marker after she betrayed Isaac Clarke and Dr. Kyne at the Ishimura's Flight Deck, stating that her mission succeeded even with the loss of Cadigan and his crew.

Afterwards, the Ishimura was recovered by EarthGov and it eventually ended up at Titan Station, where all traces of evidence regarding the Necromorph outbreak were wiped out and the ship underwent a period of structural restoration. As part of EarthGov's falsified reports of the Ishimura's destruction at the hands of terrorists, the wreckage of the Valor was most likely disposed of in the process to support their cover up.

Internal Structure[]

Briefing Room[]

The Briefing Room was available only to the Valor's command officers. It was a large room with a holographic table in the center, displaying the ship's target and mission logs. One side of the room was lined with large windows while the other featured several computer consoles.

Armory[]

The Armory was a large, long room containing an array of long weapons lockers with multiple Pulse Rifles and ammunition, as well as lockers with Advanced Soldier RIGs. A subsection of the area served as the Shooting Gallery.

Shooting Gallery[]

Main article: Shooting Gallery

The Shooting Gallery was a subsection of the Valor's Armory where off-duty Marines could practice their accuracy and shooting skills on holographic human-sized targets. Hitting all of the red targets and none of the blue targets earned the player points, with the maximum achievable score increasing with each level.

Barracks[]

The Barracks consisted of a long room separated into two sections, each section lined with personnel bunks built into the walls where the Valor's Marines slept. In the middle of each section stood a wall with several lockers for storing personal items.

Mess Hall[]

Near the Barracks was the Mess Hall, consisting of a large room with a kitchen and several tables where the Marines would have their meals.

Cargo Bay[]

The Cargo Bay was the storehouse of the Valor. It was the storage center for the ship and its Marine complement, and supplies of water, fuel, ammunition, field rations, weapons, oxygen supplies, Stasis Packs, medical supplies, and associated paraphernalia were stored here.

The Ishimura's escape pod containing the reanimated Aiden Chen was brought into this cargo bay.

Engine Room[]

The Engine Room was a very large two-level room containing the Valor's singularity core and ShockPoint Drive. It was divided into two sections: the first was the Drive Deck, a dangerous level that was dominated by the ship's ShockPoint Drive and Engine Reflux Tubes. The second level was the Engine Room proper, where the ship's propulsion systems functioned; the singularity core was contained here behind a shield. The Engine Room would be the epicenter of the ship's destruction when the singularity core was removed.

Infirmary[]

The Infirmary was a medium-sized cabin used as the sickbay and operating room for the Marines and other personnel. It was equipped with multiple patient beds, scanning and medical equipment, and a variety of surgical tools, most notably a large laser cutter device that had malfunctioned, causing it to spin erratically and cut down anything that came within reach.

Torpedo Bay[]

USM Valor's Nuclear weapons (1) — Torpedo Bay with the armed 'EURYDICE' nuke.

The Torpedo Bay was the armament storage and deployment center for the Valor, and was in ruins when Isaac Clarke entered it. As part of sterilization protocol 'EURYDICE',^[2] the Valor carried a twelve-megaton warhead, which was destabilized when the ship crashed into the Ishimura.

Armaments[]

T Env Prop Sgn Ch09 Weapons 01 E PACKED 0 — A "Weapons" poster seen on the USM *Valor*.

The USM Valor's naval armaments consisted of a network of heavy cannon batteries as well as a torpedo/missile launch system. The batteries comprised multiple pairs of large cannons located on the upper and bottom sections of the hull, as well as on the starboard and port sides of the bow. In addition to these cannons and the torpedoes, the Valor was armed with a 12-Megaton EURYDICE MOD I Guided Nuclear Missile, which was to be used on the USG Ishimura in case the Necromorph infection was present, presumably after the Marines secured the Marker.^[2]

Marine Complement[]

DSR USM Valor Dead Marine — A decapitated Marine on the USM *Valor*.

T Env Prop Sgn Ch09 ThreeTeams 01 E PACKED 0 — The "Three Teams. One Mission" poster found on the *Valor*.

The USM Valor's crew consisted of at least 64 Marines^[5] under the leadership of Commander F. Cadigan. According to a poster found on the ship, the Marines were divided into three teams: "Navigation", "Weapons" and "Engineering". The Valor's main armory was, accordingly, fully stocked with racks of SWS Motorized Pulse Rifles and lockers containing Advanced Soldier Suits.

Although many of the Marines were fully equipped with their armor and Pulse Rifles when the Necromorph outbreak broke out as a result of the recovered escape pod, most of them were either killed and transformed into Necromorphs or died when the Valor crashed into the Ishimura. However, Isaac Clarke did encounter some non-infected Marines: one who died from his injuries shortly after he was encountered, and another who escaped through a hatch to an unknown fate. Because the Marines had Stasis modules in their suits, those who were transformed into Necromorphs were able to move many times the speed of regular Slashers, being referred to as Twitchers.

Trivia[]

T Env Arc Mil Plaque 01 PACKED 0 — A plaque found on the USM *Valor*.

In the 2023 remake, a plaque found on the USM Valor notes that the ship was built at the "Wanat Orbital Ship Yards". This is a reference to production designer and Necromorph creator Ben Wanat, who worked on the original game and its sequels and was responsible for much of the series' lore.^[6]
In the remake, as the whispers from the Marker differ depending on the context of the area and chapter that Isaac is in, the whispers heard while he is on the Valor relate to the Marines' mission. These whispers are: "Dead. On. Arrival", "Crack the escape pod", "Secure... this... location...", "All personnel, to arms", "Hostile life forms on board", "Target the limbs", "No reinforcements", "Ishimura crew is compromised", "No survivors", "Single file while boarding", "Prep the nuke" and "The package is priority one".^[7]
The developers of the 2023 remake have explained the Valor's quick downfall after opening the Ishimura's escape pod during an AMA on Reddit, stating: "It wasn't just Chen. The infection spread rapidly once he was on board. The pilots and command crew were taken out (we see the attack in the briefing room in the video call) and then an explosion sealed the Valor's fate."^[3]

Gallery[]

Concept Art[]

Screenshots[]

Sources[]

[DSR-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 Plaque found on the USM Valor in Dead Space (2023)

[DSRO-2] 2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 ^2.3 Log:Orders

[ValorAnswer-3] 3.0 ^3.1 Dead Space (2023) developers: "It wasn't just Chen. The infection spread rapidly once he was on board. The pilots and command crew were taken out (we see the attack in the briefing room in the video call) and then an explosion sealed the Valor's fate."

[AB-4] Log:Alien Boarders

[5] A list of Marines on the USM Valor

[6] Dead Space on Twitter

[7] List of whispers in Dead Space (2023)

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