USS Endeavour (NCC-87507)

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[[Category:Task Force 86]]


The USS Endeavour NCC-87507 is a Manticore Class starship assigned to Task Force 86 under the command of Captain Matt Rourke. As one of the most combat-ready vessels in Starfleet, she is regularly assigned to the Federation's most fraught borders, particularly in the vicinity of The Triangle. Equipped with a Combat Information Centre for strategic analysis of ongoing threats and with several among her command staff seasoned in criminal investigations and anti-piracy operations, Endeavour is commonly dispatched to counter organised threats to Federation border worlds.

Design and Construction

Construction of the Manticore Class came in multiple planned waves. The initial batch demonstrated the value of the class, as ships were dispatched to volatile borders with minimal support and successfully protected Federation territory. The second wave was thus greenlit despite opposition from the scientific divisions of Starfleet, from whom resources were diverted to build these tactical vessels. A begrudging compromise was eventually reached with a redesign of the Manticore's scientific mission pods to include the latest and most sophisticated equipment, and a push for their installation as the default loadout. This transformed the second wave into a series of competent, if unimpressive and under-powered for their size, scientific vessels that would operate at and across the Federation's dangerous borders. Patrols could include further scientific surveys, or missions of exploration included a demonstration of Starfleet's tactical prowess.

These political manoeuvres led to the assignment of Captain Leo MacCallister to Endeavour, one of these second-wave Manticores. A seasoned explorer and diplomat, he had long lobbied for a return to Starfleet's mission of peace and exploration rather than insular non-interventionism, and personally oversaw the final stages of Endeavour's development. He ensured the installation of the scientific mission pod and streamlined the design of the ship's diplomatic facilities. Where many Manticores maintain a somewhat spartan interior, MacCallister pressed for a more habitable design that still befit a tactical vessel while making shipboard life more appealing, and arranged a civilian contractor for the main lounge. Most of these arrangements survived past MacCallister's command, giving Endeavour the feel, if not the specifications, of more of a classic Starfleet cruiser than either a luxurious modern explorer or ascetic tactical escort.

Upon assuming command, Matt Rourke instituted multiple changes. The most significant was the replacement of an anthropology laboratory with a Combat Information Centre, with modifications to the standard strategic analysis software. In conjunction with Chief of Operations Lieutenant Thawn and Chief of Security Lieutenant Kharth, Rourke oversaw a redesign for the CIC to process intelligence and investigative information, rather than merely tactical, to support the mission pursuing the Wild Hunt pirates. The CIC and its modifications have lasted beyond the Wild Hunt mission, ideally positioning Endeavour for data gathering and analysis operations across multiple systems and locations, be they focused on strategy, intelligence, or science. Rourke's establishment of a Hazard Team included modifications for their use, reallocating armoury and training facilities from the Security Department. While Rourke requested Endeavour's mission pod be replaced with the tactical variant, his assignment in pursuit of the Wild Hunt was resolved before this could be completed, and Rourke subsequently rescinded the request.

Endeavour has multiple auxiliary craft: four Type-12 shuttles and a New Atlantic-class runabout. In what was likely a provocative invocation of the myth of Camelot, Captain MacCallister named the four shuttles Galahad, Lancelot, Bedivere, and Percival, while naming the runabout King Arthur. Despite shuttles often being given a designation instead, the names have stuck, and lasted into Rourke's command.

History

Under MacCallister's command, Endeavour spent three years in the Beta Quadrant conducting scientific surveys in regions considered too dangerous for other ships and mediating disputes where her firepower acted as a deterrent to violence. This decision was not uncontroversial, some in Starfleet Command considering it a waste of resources, but MacCallister's results were indisputable. The ship saw little combat action, though was acclaimed in 2397 for driving off an opportunistic Gorn incursion, and voices opposing MacCallister's command were forced into silence.

In early 2399, Endeavour responded to a distress call from a freighter in the Midas Sector under assault by pirates. A seemingly-routine intervention turned to tragedy when one pirate ship destroyed the other to evade capture, a detonation that also damaged the nearby Endeavour. Multiple members of the senior staff were killed and Captain MacCallister grievously wounded. The pirates responsible were identified as the 'Wild Hunt,' well-established in the Midas Sector and in need of uprooting. Endeavour was assigned to this purpose when repaired, placed under Task Force 86 to reflect the new anti-pirate focus of her operation. Despite support among the crew for first officer Commander Valance to take command, Starfleet instead assigned seasoned investigator and former patrol boat commander Matt Rourke to lead Endeavour.

Under Commander Rourke, Endeavour pursued what transpired to be a well-equipped and organised pirate gang seemingly led by a renegade Starfleet officer. Shifting the crew to a tactical footing, Rourke faced some opposition from the current staff for moves that seemed to undermine Captain MacCallister's ideology, including the institution of the Hazard Team and installation of the CiC. Entering a region long-overlooked by Starfleet, Endeavour buoyed up local law enforcement and protected colonies long-preyed upon by the Wild Hunt. Indications the group went to ground in Klingon territory led to suggestions of affiliation with, if not outright support from, the House of Mo'Kai. Eventually, the Wild Hunt's base of operations was tracked to a former mining facility in the Azure Nebula, within The Triangle, and a small task group was gathered that sought and destroyed the facility, eliminating the pirate group as a regional threat.

Matthew Rourke was offered permanent command of Endeavour and promoted to Captain, and retained the senior staff in their current positions. Diplomatic overtures with the Gorn opened a region bordering the Hegemony to new scientific surveys from Starfleet, to which the well-protected Endeavour was assigned as a demonstration of local strength as much as for exploratory operations. This mission was interrupted by the incursion into the Archanis Sector by the Hunters of D'Ghor, to which the Fourth Fleet was assigned and Endeavour rapidly redeployed. With instructions to hunt down a senior D'Ghor captain, Endeavour provided relief to stricken worlds before intervening at the Elgatis Belt to incapacitate the Klingon raider. Badly damaged despite this victory, she proceeded to the shipyards of the Haydorian System to repair and bolster local defences. In the Battle of Archanis, Endeavour protected fringe outposts and settlements of the Haydorian System, before proceeding to the Taldir System to provide emergency reinforcements.

After operations in the Archanis Sector, Endeavour received extensive maintenance and repair at Starbase Bravo, before being dispatched to the old Romulan Neutral Zone.

Current Crew


Hazard Team

  • Team Leader: Lieutenant Adamant Rhade, Betazoid male from Betazed
  • Team XO: Senior Chief Petty Officer Thomas Kowalski, Human male from Taurus IV
  • Covert Operations Specialist: Chief Petty Officer T'Kalla, Human/Vulcan female from Vulcan
  • Communications Specialist: Petty Officer 1st Class Shikar, Caitian male from Cait
  • Technical Specialist: Petty Officer 2nd Class Adrienne Seeley, Human female
  • Weapons Specialist & Quartermaster: Petty Officer 3rd Class Baranel, Tellarite male from Tellar
  • Medic: Petty Officer 3rd Class Voothe, Bolian male from Bolarus

Former Crew