USS Constitution
- " What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from."
- —T.S. Elliot - Ship's Dedication Quote
The USS Constitution (NCC-91700) is a Constitution III-class Federation starship and was the prototype for the class. The Constitution is an explorer and was launched in 2400. Initially she remained at the San Francisco Fleet Yards undergoing reviews and tests on her new systems. Though others of her class had been launched, the Constitution played the role of test-bed until mid-2401. After the fiasco at Frontier Day, Starfleet decided to send off with a permanent captain and crew.
Captain Horatio McCallister was given command of the ship by Fleet Admiral Luke Duncan and ordered to join the Odyssey Squadron. McCallister had previously command the USS Bellerophon and was interim captain on the USS Triton. As both of these vessels suffered heavy damage from the events surrounding Frontier Day, those crewmembers who had survived and were available were assigned to the Constitution.
Design and Layout
Being the prototype, the Constitution was designed to try and capture the essence of the original Constitution-class. A number of her features carry on certain styles from the 2250/60s era with a 25th century twist. One aspect from the original Constitution-class is the colour scheme. The overall aesthetic of the colour scheme incorporated a dominant blend of red-orange hues, which were elegantly contrasted by the light grey panelling. Additionally, a thoughtful touch was added to the interior design with the installation of soft white or multicoloured lights, perfectly placed within the floor, wall panelling, and ceiling to complement and enhance the beauty of the chosen colours.
Shipboard life
The Constitution ran on four duty shifts. Alpha shift started at 0900 hours and finished at 1500 hours. Beta shift started at 1500 hours and finished at 2100 hours. Gamma shift started at 2100 hours and finished at 0300 hours. Finally, Delta Shift began at 0300 hours and ended at 0900 hours.
All enlisted officers on board the Constitution were expected to share quarters with three others, while those with the rank of ensign and who weren't department heads would have to share with an officer of a similar position. The senior staff and those ranked from lieutenant junior grade had their own quarters. The Constitution had no civilians assigned to her, however had room for any specialists if the mission required it.
As the Constitution housed both crews from the Triton and Bellerophon, the former had quite a diverse crew. As such the ship's environmental controls as well as crew support facilities were revamped to support such a variety of races.
Main Bridge, Deck One
When the Constitution was built, her bridge design was altered compared to her sister ships. Instead of using the same design used in the Sagan-class, as a nod to its historical lineage, the bridge was design like an original Constitution class. Though this nostalgic approach was a welcome one, when Captain McCallister took command, he requested a slight modification. He had the platform his chair was on extended and two more command chairs placed either side of it. This was something he was used to from the Bellerophon and enjoyed from the Triton.
In front of the command pit, the helm station was situated to the right and the operations station to the left. Near the turbolift access were the engineering, security, and tactical stations. Following these were the main viewer, mission ops, communications and the science station. A small aisle, located between the science and communication stations, led to the captain's ready. The bridge had a rounded corridor surrounding it, which led to the main conference room.
Fitted into the bridge, along with every other section of the ship, are holographic emitters allowing for holo-communication to take place and for the ship's holographic crew to operate.
The Establishment
The Establishment is the Constitution’s primary crew lounge and bar. Hosted by holographic servers, it provides the crew with an area to relax and unwind in between shifts. Reasonably large, it could host a big diplomatic function of about two hundred people if required. Like the rest of the ship, it was brightly lit and had a classy and elegant design. Different shades of grey and white were used for most of the decor, where black was the colour for the tops of tables and the bar, while gold legs were attached to every chair and stall. Several curved sofas were dotted around the room, allowing large groups to sit together to enjoy a break or drink. To one side of it, there was a stage where a grand piano sat, and by the afternoon, it was played by another hologram.
Every morning, a large buffet of fresh food was provided along the top of the main bar, which everyone could help themselves. Holographic servers went around delivering beverages.
Support Craft
To avoid waiting for Starfleet to build brand new shuttles for the ship, Captain McCallister requested those shuttles and runabouts that survived from the Bellerophon and Triton to be assigned to the Constitution.
He even kept the captain's yacht in memory of Captain Rio Canção, who sacrificed her life for her crew on the Triton and Federation citizens.
As the ship was heading to the Delta Quadrant, it was given six Valkyrie-class starfighters to support the large wing assigned to the USS Odyssey and USS Themis.
Support Craft Assigned
- Shuttles:
- Cargo Shuttles:
- Type 17: Hydissos, Bronden
- Runabouts:
- Delta-Class: Adelaide, Chimera
- Volga-Class: Deliades, Jaz
- Other support craft:
- Captain’s Yacht: Rivière Chanson
History
2400+
Built at the San Francisco Fleet Yards, the Constitution was the test bed for the new class that it shared a name with. When the ship was completed, Starfleet decided to keep it in the yards to test out new systems and to ensure that the newest Constitution class can support them. As a result a captain was not selected until after the Frontier Day disaster in April of 2401. Seeing the need to get as many ships 'out there', the Constitution was assigned to the Fourth Fleet and Fleet Admiral Luke Duncan, the fleet's newest Operations Director, gave command of the Constitution to Captain Horatio McCallister. McCallister assembled his crew, based on those officers available from his previous command the USS Bellerophon and the USS Triton. Duncan authorised for the Constitution to join the Odyssey Squadron once the USS Odyssey and USS Themis were repaired.
In May 2401, the Constitution was forcefully pulled from the Swallow Nebula region, battered by a dense surge of neutrinos and a powerful gravitational sheer. Despite attempts to evade, the ship sustained severe damage and was hurled over three thousand light years away. Analysis later revealed that the intense neutrino activity had trapped it in folded space. Once repairs were completed, the crew steered the Constitution toward a nearby system housing a Sikarian colony on its sole habitable planet. Once contact was initiated by McCallister, the Sikarian leader, Magistrate Mulier Mala, graciously invited the Constitution crew to their colony, Fabula. What puzzled the crew most was the discovery that the neutrinos originated from the planet itself.
Mala explained that the Sikarians had unintentionally pulled the Constitution to Fabula while experimenting with signifcant enhancements to their spatial trajector technology. Fabula was the furthest planet from Sikaris with a mantle of tetrahedral quartz. Their attempt to send a probe through the spatial trajector had instead locked onto the Constitution. Adding to the intrigue, a crashed Hirogen hunting ship was discovered on Fabula.
Despite the Sikarians' apparent efforts to assist the Hirogen, conflict arose when the latter attacked. Utilising their advanced technology, the Sikarians defended their colony against the aggressors. During a meal with the Sikarian leadership, the Constitution's senior staff aided in the defence when the Hirogen mounted another assault. Following the repulsion of the Hirogen, McCallister offered mediation between the Sikarians and the Hirogen. The Hirogen Alpha alleged deception by the Sikarians, recounting their arrival on Fabula and the subsequent skirmishes. Further investigations by away teams uncovered additional crashed alien vessels scattered across the planet. Upon learning of Mala's manipulative actions, McCallister and the Hirogen Alpha forged a temporary truce and alliance to confront the Sikarians. It was uncovered that Mala was using the spatial trajector to pull ships across the quadrant for political gain. She was pulling alien ships to Fabula in a bold attempt to steal their stories to sell back home on Sikaris so she could become Chief Magistrate. During the confrontation, Mala escaped and the Hirogen ended hunting her across Fabula. After she was stopped and other Sikarians surrendered, Captain McCallister sent the Hirogen through the trajector to the nearest Hirogen training grounds. Concerned about the enhanced trajector's potential misuse, McCallister and Commander Thaustin decided to destroy the technology and its research. Unable to trust the Sikarians with this task, they undertook it themselves, resulting in the Constitution being stranded three years from its previous position. Fortunately, a Voth ship and a Turei vessel were among the wreckage on Fabula. The crew salvaged a working Voth transwarp coil and a Turei map detailing possible Underspace corridors. However, before they destroyed the trajector, they sent a small probe back to their last location in the Swallow Nebula region.
Almost a month later, the ship was making its way back to the Swallow Nebula region. In a bold bid to contact the Odyssey, the ship's chief engineer attempted to make a Borg-inspired interplexing beacon. The beacon's first attempt at using a nearby pulsar to bounce its hyper-subspace signal resulted in non-corporeal photonic lifeforms invading the ship's computer systems. After making first contact with them, the crew had to perform William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet on the Holodeck. This was after the lifeforms became interested by it. Once this was completed, the photonic lifeforms shared that the pulsar was their home and allowed the crew to use to send their message.
Crew
Command Staff
- Commanding Officer:
- Captain Horatio McCallister (Human Male) (2401+)
- Executive Officer:
- Commander Thaustin (Xindi-Primate Male) (2401+)
- Second Executive Officer:
- Commander Belire Kazlaf (Elaysian Female) (2401+)
- Third Executive Officer:
- Lieutenant Commander Rubon Jarata (Risian Male) (2401+)
Senior Staff/Department Heads
- Chief Flight Control Officer:
- Lieutenant Commander Rubon Jarata (Risian Male) (2401+)
- Chief Science Officer:
- Commander Belire Kazlaf (Elaysian Female) (2401+)
- Chief Medical Officer:
- Lieutenant Commander Kamra Uknare (Haliian Female) (2401+)
- Chief Counsellor:
- Chief Engineer:
- Chief Operations Officer:
- Lieutenant Ethav Th'vohless (Andorian thaan/male) (2401+)
- Chief Security & Tactical Officer:
- Lieutenant Junior Grade Natima Lonar (Cardassian Female) (2401+)