USS Polaris

USS Polaris
General Information
Registry	NCC-80001
Class & Type	Odyssey-class explorer
Affiliation	Starfleet
Status	Active
Commissioned	2385
Assignment
Task Force	Task Force 93
Task Group	Task Group 44
Role	Explorer
Key Personnel
Commanding Officer	Fleet Admiral Allison Reyes
Executive Officer	Captain Gérard Devreux
Template:Starship

"All we known is still infinitely less than all that remains unknown."

    —William Harvey

While research and development activities are traditionally conducted from starbases and outposts within the Federation’s core territories, not all research occurs within a lab. Sometimes, the greatest discoveries are made amongst the stars. This is the mission of the USS Polaris.

The USS Polaris is an Odyssey class explorer within Task Force 93 of the Fourth Fleet that is home to the Advanced Science, Technology and Research Activity (ASTRA), a specialized, cross-functional unit intended to fuel Starfleet’s innovation engine through exploration of strange new works, interactions and negotiations with alien species, and crisis response to some of the stranger realities on the rim of known space. It is also the flagship of Fleet Admiral Allison Reyes, conducting diplomatic and first contact duties as necessary to represent the interests of the Federation out on the frontier.

Operational History

In 2394, construction of the USS Polaris completed at Starbase 93. Following a relatively calm first few years, in April 2399, the USS Polaris was allocated to the Fourth Fleet as part of the Osiris Initiative. Due to the versatility and size of the Odyssey class, it was selected as the platform to host the Advanced Science, Technology and Research Activity, a specialized unit with an ambitious mandate to conduct research on the frontier to fuel Starfleet's innovation engine.

In order to support the mission of the Advanced Science, Technology and Research Activity, the Polaris spent several more months in spacedock undergoing modifications for the specialized equipment and labs to support the needs of the Activity, and it launched officially in September 2399 under the command of Fleet Admiral Allison Reyes.

Key Missions

A Place Removed from Space - June 2400 - First Contact Mission

The USS Polaris was dispatched to find two ships that had gone missing deep in the Talvath Cluster. As it began its search, the USS Polaris' warp field collapsed and it became stranded due to incongruities in local subspace. The ASTRA Astrophysics and Exotic Sciences Team attempted to derive a new formalism around a spacetime whose existence shouldn't have been possible, but yet absolutely was what they found themselves within.

While work was ongoing to find a way to reestablish a warp field, the USS Polaris made first contact with a xenophobic alien species. It was learned that, almost two millennia ago, this species had folded spacetime, in a still not understood manner, in order to shut off outside access and defend themselves against aggression of pre-Imperial Romulan warlords. Ultimately, this species, whose refused to provide a name, assisted the USS Polaris and her sister ships in returning to Federation space under the condition that the Federation never return.

Infiltrate and Liberate - April 2401 - Covert and Direct Action Mission (Lost Fleet Campaign)

In the early days of the Lost Fleet crisis, the Nasera System fell to the Dominion and Breen assault. One of the oldest Federation colonies in the Deneb Sector and a key industrial center, retaking Nasera was deemed a key priority by Fourth Fleet Command. A covert action team, comprised of USS Polaris Hazard Team members and private contractors, was dispatched to Nasera II to disrupt planetary and orbital defenses, paving the way for the USS Polaris and a small assault wing to execute a counter-offensive to recapture the system.

Departmental Structure

Advanced Science, Technology and Research Activity (ASTRA)

ASTRA is comprised of four specialized science and research units that dramatically extend beyond the scope of traditional Science, Medical and Counseling departments, and it replaces these departments with the exception of standard onboard medical and counseling functions.

The director of the Activity is Fleet Admiral Allison Reyes, a former Director of Starfleet R&D's Frontier Sciences Division, Deputy Director of Starfleet R&D's Shipbuilding Technologies Division, and Section Chief for the Starfleet Intelligence Technology Analysis Bureau.

• Astrophysics and Exotic Sciences Unit, led by Commander Luke Lockwood, Ph.D., is responsible for research related to stellar and planetary phenomena, including astrophysics, subspace mechanics, temporal mechanics, stellar cartography, geochemistry, minerology, seismology, etc.
• Medical and Biological Sciences Unit, led by James Henderson, M.D., M.P.H., is responsible for research related to alien species, including ecology, biology, zoology, botany, etymology, medicine, anatomy, pathology, toxicology, bacteriology, etc.
• Cultural and Psychological Research Unit, led by Lieutenant Lisa Hall, Ph.D., is responsible for research related to the development, culture and perspectives of alien species, including anthropology, archaeology, agronomy, psychology, negotiation, historiology, etc.
• Technology and Engineering Research Unit, led by Captain Soren Ayal, is responsible for research related to Federation and foreign technologies, including propulsion, weapons, shields, sensors, communications, digital systems, synthetic lifeforms, etc.

Starship Operations

Due to the multi-role purpose of the USS Polaris, general starship operations, such as Flight Control, Engineering, Operations, Tactical and Security, are principally overseen by Executive Officer Captain Gérard Devreux.

Other functions, such as Medical and Counseling, are provided as extensions of the Advanced Science, Technology and Research Activity, with James Henderson, M.D., M.P.H. and Lieutenant Lisa Hall, Ph.D. doubling as Chief Medical Officer and Chief Counselor respectively, and there is no standard Science department on the USS Polaris as its functions are completely subsumed by the Advanced Science, Technology and Research Activity.

Tactical Operations

Coming Soon...

Diplomatic Operations

Coming Soon...

Command History

• 2399 - Present: Fleet Admiral Allison Reyes