USS Daedalus
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- "Soar higher."
- —Ship's dedication quote
USS Daedalus (NCC-72703) is a Rhode Island-class scout assigned to Starfleet's Fourth Fleet, Task Force 47 and operates as part of the Typhon Wayfinding Division. Amongst the first wave of refitted Nova-class frames, Daedalus has operated with the fleet since its commissioning in 2385 as an advanced scout and first responder. Still one of the fastest fleet vessels, it continues to serve with pride on the frontiers of Federation space, where it combines its speed and advanced sensor systems to keep a watchful eye on the horizon.
Service History
Commissioning & Early Service
An early member of the class's construction run, the core spaceframe of Daedalus was originally a Nova-class explorer destined to provide scientific support to the internal regions of the Federation. Following the success of the USS Rhode Island (NCC-72701), several part-built space frames, including Daedalus, were quickly re-drawn to join the new class. In 2385 Daedalus sailed free of the dockyards and joined the fleet at large. Initially assigned to scouting and reconnaissance missions out of the Fourth Fleet's headquarters at Starbase Bravo, she was transferred to Task Force 72 to provide support to the new scientific endeavours being undertaken on the Cardassian border.
2401
The Lost Fleet Incident
When the Dominion force that came to be known as 'The Lost Fleet' returned to known space and annexed a large portion of space, Daedalus was amongst the first vessels dispatched to the new front. Ahead of the Fourth Fleet's deployment to the area Daedalus and her crew operated fast reconnaissance operations at the border that now ran through the Deneb Sector.
During the conflict, she provided support to the USS Nestus in their operation within the Oromal Cluster to eliminate a Breen research base, where intelligence suggested a new dampening weapon was being developed. Unfortunately, the base was discovered to have been abandoned by the researchers and to have been operated as a decoy. Daedalus along with Nestus were forced to retreat out of the system and rallied with the main fleet at Farpoint, both providing combat support during the battle.[1]
The Fourth Fleet Directive
Following an incident involving rogue nanotbots, the community's de facto doctor, Aramook, revealed intelligence indicating the Borg Collective had undergone a major shift in structure and dynamics. He suggested the Collective was rejecting the Queen model and retreating to refocus on expanding deeper into the Delta Quadrant.
Unfortunately, the vessel was unable to withstand the rigours of warp travel and was destroyed by an explosion that appeared to originate in its power generators. Exodus was lost with the away team still aboard.
2402
Captain Helena Dread was assigned to the Daedalus with most of the crew from the USS Olympic to combat the combined threat of Patra, The True Way, and The Orion Syndicate. Patra attempted to have his revenge on the USS Mackenzie, but was foiled when Pandora Crawford took forceful control of his section of the Orion Syndicate.
The Blackout
Early in 2402, Daedalus was assigned to the pursuit of Commander Bib following his apparent desertion and defection to the cause of a cluster of the Exodus remnant. Departing at maximum warp from K-74 towards Pamack Base, Daedalus followed the trail towards the edge of Klingon space into the largely uncharted Klingon/Gorn border. After convincing the reluctatnt IKS Ho'Nang to provide assistance, the crew eventually tracked the signal to the nearby uninhabited Aldrina system, where they began a large sweeping patrol alongside the Klingon vessel.[3]
Unfortunately, the fleeing vessel left a number of booby-trapped decoys which caught the pair of ships by surprise, disabling Daedalus and caused massive damage to Ho'Nang. Following a number of innovative repairs and a dangerous space walk to the Klingon wreck, resulting in the rescue of several Klingon officers, the crew were able to bring Daedalus back into operation. With subspace communications offline and warp travel impossible as a result of the ongoing quadrant-spanning Blackout, the crew opted to proceed to the comm relay at the edge of the system in the hopes of piercing the subspace interference.
Nightfall
Having spent several weeks at high impulse, Daedalus stumbled upon an underspace aperture that was stuck open following an unknown fault with a nearby disabled Vaadwaur vessel. After several prevarious hours travelling through the corridors, they believed they were approaching K-74 and exited the underspace corridor to discover the starbase under direct attack from a Vaadwaur assault force.[4]
The crew of Daedalus decided to engage the small patrol boat forces but were quickly at a stalemate, losing their vital element of surprise. They devised a plan to board K-74 and reactivate the station's nearby defense satellites in the hopes of overwhelming the Vaadwaur combatants. Unable to withdraw from the dogfight they had unwittingly become engaged in, Captain Mellasitox opted to deploy Theta Squad aboard the waverider Icarus as they passed close by to the station's upper sections.
Whilst Theta Squad was successful in defeating the small garrison and bringing the defence network back online, the Vaadwaur patrol ships departed without an obvious reason, returning to Underspace. Daedalus was left to secure the station whilst aid arrived, the Blackout having lifted across much of the galaxy.
Design and Capabilities
At the time of its launch, Daedalus was fitted with cutting-edge sensors and deep-space reconnaissance tools, alongside a number of improvements to both its sublight and faster-than-light engines, making it far superior to its Nova-class predecessors. As one of the early runs of the class, she has been heavily modified over time with a focus on reducing the maintenance needs of the, at the time, advanced components. Whilst later production runs have benefitted from these in-service modifications from the outset, Daedalus continues to be a tricky trial of skill for her engineering team as they continue to grapple with a spaceframe that was never quite intended to hold quite so much power.
Icarus
Nestled in its cradle on deck 4, Icarus is the primary auxiliary craft utilised by the Daedalus crew for extra-ship missions that require physical support. Whilst the ship holds a number of small shuttle craft, mostly Type-9s, Icarus is vastly more capable and is the preferred support craft for many of the ship's away teams. Featuring a number of improvements to its sensor palettes in line with the ship's own refurbishments, Icarus is a valuable tool for data collection and, where necessary, intelligence gathering and observation.
The domain of expert pilot Syal Rissikan, Icarus stands at the ready to take to the skies.
Notable Crew
Commanding Officers