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Difference between revisions of "USS Arcturus"

Difference between revisions of "USS Arcturus"

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The '''USS ''Arcturus''''' is an [[Odyssey Class|''Odyssey'' Class]] starship assigned to [[Task Force 17]] under the command of [[bfms_char:14961|Captain Michael Lancaster]], serving as the flagship for [[bfms_char:15254|Rear Admiral Elizabeth Hayden's]] long-duration Delta Quadrant expedition. As a member of the largest class in Starfleet, she has a crew of 2,500 and serves as a mobile base of operation for a flotilla of runabouts and a handful of smaller starships assigned to operations in the Nacene Reach, with the goal of exploring the area first encountered by the starship ''Voyager'' in greater detail than was possible during the early days of her journey home. Unlike her sister ships, the ''Arcturus'' has been specifically built to command missions of extreme distance and duration, with greater system redundancy and industrial fabrication capabilities than is standard for ''Odyssey''-class ships which are more often used for diplomatic and command duties closer to the Federation.  
The '''USS ''Arcturus''''' is an [[Odyssey Class|''Odyssey'' Class]] starship assigned to [[Task Force 17]] under the command of [[bfms_char:14961|Captain Michael Lancaster]], serving as the flagship for [[bfms_char:15254|Rear Admiral Elizabeth Hayden's]] long-duration Delta Quadrant expedition. As a member of the largest class in Starfleet, she has a crew of 2,500 and serves as a mobile base of operation for a flotilla of runabouts and a handful of smaller starships assigned to operations in the Nacene Reach, with the goal of exploring the area first encountered by the starship ''Voyager'' in greater detail than was possible during the early days of her journey home. Unlike her sister ships, the ''Arcturus'' has been specifically built to command missions of extreme distance and duration, with greater system redundancy and industrial fabrication capabilities than is standard for ''Odyssey''-class ships which are more often used for diplomatic and command duties closer to the Federation.  


==History==
==Planning and Construction==


===Preconstruction History===
===Preconstruction History===

Revision as of 07:24, 29 January 2021

[[Category:Odyssey Class-class]][[Category:Task Force 17]]


The USS Arcturus is an Odyssey Class starship assigned to Task Force 17 under the command of Captain Michael Lancaster, serving as the flagship for Rear Admiral Elizabeth Hayden's long-duration Delta Quadrant expedition. As a member of the largest class in Starfleet, she has a crew of 2,500 and serves as a mobile base of operation for a flotilla of runabouts and a handful of smaller starships assigned to operations in the Nacene Reach, with the goal of exploring the area first encountered by the starship Voyager in greater detail than was possible during the early days of her journey home. Unlike her sister ships, the Arcturus has been specifically built to command missions of extreme distance and duration, with greater system redundancy and industrial fabrication capabilities than is standard for Odyssey-class ships which are more often used for diplomatic and command duties closer to the Federation.

Planning and Construction

Preconstruction History

Following the destruction of Utopia Planitia in 2385, Starfleet's shipbuilding priorities were thrown into disarray, as a substantial number of the Federation's large shipyards had been temporarily diverted to producing evacuation transports for the Romulan relocation effort, at the expense of larger explorers and dedicated science vessels. In the chaos that resulted from the destabilization and reorganization of the Romulan Star Empire just a few years later, Starfleet began prioritizing vessels that could be assigned to defensive duties and which would be used to maintain the integrity of the Federation's borders. In the mid-2390s, though, certain factions within Starfleet's higher echelons were successful in securing resources to plan a return to long-range exploratory missions, especially those that could be carried out by the newly-built Century and Vesta-class starships which represented new standards in automation, efficiency, and independence. While these vessels were especially well-suited for solo missions in the Alpha and Beta quadrants that would eventually be followed up on by science vessels, the Delta Exploration Initiative pushed for expeditions that would be able to support multiple starships for an extended period in an environment without bases or supply depots.

As such, the Arcturus was ordered in 2394 as an experimental variant of the Odyssey-class which would include greater system redundancy and industrial fabrication capabilities to allow it to serve as a long-range base of operations for an expedition to the Delta Quadrant. As a proof of concept, she would embark on a three-month trial mission through the Barzan Wormhole into the Delta Quadrant starting in early 2399 and accompanied by a task group from the Fourth Fleet's Task Force 38. Even before construction had started, then-Fleet Captain Elizabeth Hayden was selected as her commanding officer and of the task group. While many construction sites were considered, the Starfleet Corps of Engineers settled on Epsilon Indi Station, to test the feasibility of building large explorers at Starfleet's smaller construction facilities, using modular assembly protocols with individual sections of the ship brought in from other small bases and then integrated at Epsilon Indi, with the eventual goal of reducing the reliance on large fleet yards such as Utopia Planitia.

Construction at Epsilon Indi

Captain Akintoye Okusanya was selected to oversee the design and construction phases for the Arcturus, with the first hull sections beginning construction in early 2395. Though several other ships of the class had already been built, the process was lengthened by the modifications made to both the internal systems and the exterior hull geometry of the Arcturus for her specialized mission parameters, which resulted in a primary hull that was closer in shape to the older Galaxy-class, the elliptical shape allowing for more quarters with viewports and expanded crew support facilities in the primary hull. The secondary hull was also given a rounder shape to accommodate the extra industrial replicator complexes, ship's stores, and a large recreation deck for the secondary hull crew. The Class-9 warp drive system from the base class was retained, but the power conduits and structure of the core itself were both reinforced and fitted with redundant backups of nearly every component to allow for longer stretches without maintenance. The saucer warp drive system was also enhanced to allow for more than just occasional jaunts away from the stardrive section, with the goal of allowing each section to operate independently for longer periods of time on separate exploratory missions.

Construction proceeded without significant issues, and in 2396 then-Commander Michael Lancaster, the Chief of Staff of the Delta Exploration Initiative, began to develop a crew roster and equipment manifest suitable for the Arcturus's stated three-month trial mission as well as the very real possibility that the ship and those accompanying her would find themselves stranded 70,000 light-years from home and need to make their way back via conventional means, should the wormhole's stability fail. Lancaster was eventually promoted to Captain and assigned as Hayden's first officer, alongside Okusanya as Captain of Engineering, and a fourth captain to lead the ship's medical department: Captain Alenis Anjar, M.D., both because of the sheer size of the ship's crew and to ensure that there would be a deep bench of command talent to pull from, should one or more of the ship's senior officers be killed during the course of the mission.

Operational History

Departure from Epsilon Indi

The Arcturus was launched in early 2399 from Epsilon Indi Station. On the eve of the ship's departure to the Barzan system, the Waverider shuttle carrying the ship's first officer and a handful of other officers on their way to join the crew was hijacked by a Starfleet officer who had become disaffected with Starfleet's return towards pre-Mars shipbuilding levels, which he felt put the population of the Federation at the same risk of the thousands who lost their lives during the attack on Utopia Planitia fourteen years prior. Captain Lancaster and his associates were able to defeat his plot to destroy Epsilon Indi station, and the Arcturus continued on schedule to its mission.

Alpha Quadrant War Games

Prior to departure from Guardian Station in the Alpha Quadrant, the Arcturus engaged in a war game scenario with a wing of destroyers from the Andorian Imperial Guard, at the behest of the Delta Exploration Initiative's leader, Vice Admiral Jonathan Knox. The Andorians were selected as their vessels and tactics were believed to approximate what the Kazon in the Delta Quadrant could have achieved with thirty years of growth since the last time Voyager was present; their largely forward-oriented weapons and high maneuverability would be a substantial threat to a large vessel like the Arcturus. Thanks to the actions of the crew of the Apollo, the Arcturus's battle group won the day, leaving the ship ready to depart with a crew in good spirits from a recent win.

Delta Quadrant Katabasis

Proceeding at high warp on a month-long journey from the wormhole towards Ocampa, the Arcturus's first priorities in the Delta Quadrant were to demonstrate their ship's preparedness to operate independently from Starfleet and to document the current conditions in the Delta Quadrant along the 800 light-year corridor connecting the Barzan Wormhole and the area known as the Nacene Reach, to help decided future exploration and diplomatic priorities. During this journey, the Arcturus recovered the wreck of the USS Strickland, a science vessel that had been thrown into the reach due to a warp coil imbalance and which later participated in the stabilization of the Barzan Wormhole.

Ocampan Second Contact

Upon reaching the Ocampa system, the place that Voyager's journey home began, the Arcturus completed a detailed survey and inventory of the remains of the Caretaker's array, finding nearly all of the debris removed entirely from the site, followed by a detailed scan of the Ocampan homeworld. While initially believed to be unihabited, the Ocampa were eventually revealed to be still living in their subterranean city, using tetryon reactors reverse-engineered from the array. This group of Ocampa believed that their survival was dependent on their isolation and they lived as if they were still being supported by the Caretaker, as his technology was now maintaining their way of life without his direct intervention. Contact was also made with splinter factions of the Ocampa, the two so-far known to exist being a militant isolationist faction which used comandeered and enhanced Kazon vessels to aggressively defend a small number of systems near Ocampa (and to respond to incursions on the Ocampan homeworld) and an exploratory faction who wanted to seek out connections with their neighbors. These ideologically-distinct factions were attributed to the societal development that occured in the five Ocampan generations that had been born since Voyager left, as fewer Ocampa were willing to subscribe to orthodoxy following the Caretaker's death.

Anabasis to the Wormhole

With second contact and diplomatic relations achieved between the Federation and Ocampa, the Arcturus left a communications relay in orbit connected to a network being deployed by engineering support ships in their group, which the Ocampa shielded with the same technology that allowed their city to remain hidden, and the Arcturus began her journey back towards the wormhole with data from other successful contacts from her task group to report back and to check the results of automated probes left in her wake. Along the way, the Arcturus rendezvoused with the Apollo, which had suffered engine damage during an encounter with the Kazon. With the much smaller ship attached to the Arcturus via magnetic clamps, Arcturus proceeded through the wormhole back to Barzan II.

Attack on Guardian Station

When the Arcturus emerged, though, Guardian Station was under attack by the Breen. Moments after the Arcturus raised shields and prepared to engage, Admiral Knox's flagship purposefully rammed a Breen dreadnought, vaporizing both ships. The Sovereign-class USS Seleya was burning in space, and the Challenger-class USS Shahid had been destroyed completely. With an investigation underway and a sudden vacuum in leadership in the region, Fleet Captain Hayden was promoted directly to Rear Admiral and ordered to maintain order with a newly-reformulated Task Force 9 along the Breen Border. Captain Lancaster was promoted to the ship's commanding officer and in turn the ship's senior officer of the watch, Commander Song Hyo, was promoted to the substantive rank of captain and position of Executive Officer.

Emergency Duty At Home & Return to the Delta Quadrant

While Hayden was able to coordinate Starfleet's response to increasing Breen aggression, once more tactically-suitable vessels were brought into the region, Starfleet refocused its attention to using the Arcturus for its intended purpose: long-range exploration, and so the Arcturus was re-deployed to the Delta Quadrant with a new mandate for a five-year mission with the possibility for indefinite renewal.

Notable Crew (Mid-2399)

With a crew of over twice the size of the previous largest starship in the fleet (the Galaxy-class explorer) and an extended-duration mission profile, the Arcturus has more senior officers than most other starships, with a command structure closer to a major starbase than the average explorer. The ship's captain reports to the mission commander. Reporting to him is the executive officer (overseeing bridge officers), to whom the captain of engineering (overseeing the ship's systems), and the captain of science and medicine, who are both officers holding the substantive rank of Captain and who are both recognized experts in their field, report.

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