USS Triton
- "To do the useful thing, to say the courageous thing, to contemplate the beautiful thing: that is enough for one man's life"
- —T.S. Elliot - Ship's Dedication Quote
The USS Triton (NCC-80106) is a Luna-class Federation starship operating in the 24th Century and is the third starship to bear the name. The ship is known for being one of a few ships in Starfleet to host a crew that has a wide range of species serving on it, including those that aren't humanoid based. The Triton currently serves in the Fourth Fleet’s Odyssey Squadron. Famed for her time under the command of several notable Starfleet captains, including Captain Evelynn Vangelos, Captain James Preston McCallister and most recently Captain Rio Canção.
Design & Layout
Physical arrangement
The Triton shared many of its designs and styles based on a mixture from the Sovereign-class and Galaxy-class after its first major refit in 2385. Most of the aesthetic improvements were ordered by Captain McCallister who found Triton's original arrangements (the main colour scheme was grey and silver) to be bland and believed it would be detrimental to the crew if they had to work in such a dull looking workplace. The main colour scheme running through the ship from 2385 onwards was one of dark prussian blue and deep maroon.
Shipboard life
Triton ran on three duty shifts. Alpha shift started at 0700 hours and finished at 1500 hours. Beta shift started at 1500 hours and finished at 2300 hours. Gamma shift started at 2300 hours and finished at 0700 hours.
All enlisted officers on board Triton 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. Triton's civilian population was small compared to Galaxy-class ships. Most of the civilians that are on board are allowed to hold important jobs in the ship's science and medical departments, as well as support areas like the crew lounge and the ship's school or the Arboretum.
Due to the nature of the Triton diverse crew, where only approximately fifteen percent are Human and the rest are from other Humanoid or non-Humanoid backgrounds, Triton's environmental controls as well as crew support facilities are designed to support such a variety of races. In 2386, Captain McCallister attempted to ensure that at least sixty percent of the crew represented at least one Federation member state. This remained the same after his departure.
Holographic ship-wide systems
Like most other Starfleet ships, Triton is equipped with integrated holographic projectors on every deck through every section to support the use of the ship's Emergency Medical Holographic program. However the EMH is not the only holographic program installed on the Triton. The ship is one of many ships in the fleet in being a test-bed for the new Emergency Repair Holographic Team (ERHT), which is designed to support the engineering staff during critical situations where holographic systems are operational in a dangerous zone that prevents a damage control team from entering without safety gear. The ERHT was activated before the Triton was launched from its refit and they had helped in re-installing a number of power relays and went on to aid in the completion of the last upgrades to the ship’s secondary computer processors. The ERHT was made up of four holographic crew-members. Due to the nature of using the holographic systems, the hologrid which managed and powered the holographic crew ran its energy off from an independent power system away from the ship's primary fusion generators. Triton was also equipped with an Emergency Command Hologram but to date has yet to be activated.
Support Craft
The ship was permanently outfitted with six shuttles and three runabouts in 2386. These crafts were named by the captain in honour of former officers and close friends he had served with and who he was forced to witness die in the line of duty. The captain's yacht itself is based on the same style of the Sovereign-class' yacht and was a present from a former mentor he taught with at Starfleet Academy, Captain Rio Canção. McCallister had the yacht named Rivière Chanson, which was the French translation for her name. Captain Canção joked with McCallister that the yacht appeared bigger on the inside compared to the outside. The yacht itself was outfitted with the latest technological developments made Starfleet Research & Development. One of the advanced technologies was an improved version of the Unimatrix shielding system developed for the use on Delta-Class runabouts ten years earlier.
Support Craft Assigned
- Shuttles:
- Runabouts:
- Delta-Class: Adelaide
- Other support craft:
- Captain’s Yacht: Rivière Chanson
History
2380-2385
The Triton was launched on January 2nd 2380 on stardate 57005.35 and was the last of the first batch of twelve Luna-class ships to be constructed. She was built at Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards in the orbit of Mars. Like her sister ships, the Triton would have a diverse crew with only twenty percent of her crew being human and the other eighty percent being crewmembers from all walks of life with different backgrounds. Captain Evelynn Vangelos took command of the Triton at the ship’s christening service. The Triton would be Vangelos’ last time in the captain’s chair before her decision to retire.
After a six month shakedown cruise in Federation space, Vangelos would command the Triton on its first five years deep space mission in the Beta Quadrant. The exploration mission was a success and the Triton made contact with twenty one new races, catalogued and mapped just over three thousand light years of unexplored space. For Vangelos’ efforts on her final assignment she was highly decorated and awarded with a presidential award. Once the Triton returned to Federation space, Vangelos retired from Starfleet and the ship was sent to Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards for some repairs, a refit to its computer and propulsion systems as well as a resupply. The entire process would take between nine-twelve months; as such the entire Triton crew were re-assigned elsewhere in the fleet while the yard's engineers got on with the upgrades.
2385-2387
At the end of 2385 it was announced that Starfleet Command had selected a new commanding officer and that [ would be taking over the ship. McCallister, a young but experienced officer, supervised the last of the refits of the Triton. McCallister was instrumental in shedding off some time of the estimated time of completion. The Triton was expected to re-launch with a brand new crew two months earlier than originally expected.
Triton was launched and ordered to take up lead of a small relief force heading to Starbase 378 to support efforts in the Alcor sector. The sector was preparing for the collapse of the Amorgia star which would have drastic changes to the local region. Before Triton arrived though they received news that the star collapsed and as such the gravity shift in the Alcor sector has had a profound effect on a number of Federation worlds. The task group that Triton had led was assigned various duties to provide relief efforts while the Triton herself was ordered to deal with a crisis that was brewing between the Federation colony of Alcor Prime and a race known as the Hayde’nk, who are a Federation Protectorate. Ships from the Hayde'nk Royal High Guard had been attacking Federation ships when they sought refuge in the Commonwealth after the collapse of Amorgia. The Federation Council and President wanted answers to know why this was happening and to stop any more attacks from happening again. The crew discovered that the Hayde'nk had a change in their government, one that was orchestrated by dissidents who were manipulating military and political leaders against each other. This rebel group were being supported by a Ferengi Daimon and his crew, who themselves were captured by their business partners and later killed. Working alongside some of these leaders of the Hayde'nk Commonwealth, the crew were able to help restore order to the Commonwealth after the underground movement was exposed. Peace returned to the Hayde'nk Commonwealth and answers were shared with the Ferengi Alliance about the rogue Ferengi crew that were helping the dissidents. During this mission the Triton herself was badly damaged and returned to Starbase 378 for extensive repairs and to finish off installing any systems that were not put in before her rushed launch. The ship remained moored at the station for a few weeks before being ordered to help the colony on Olbari II with evacuation.
After entering the Olbari system, Triton was responsible for constructing emergency shelters on Olbari III to help in the evacuation of its sister planet on Olbari II. At the beginning of this mission the crew and ship were pushed to their limits to help the Olbari II colonists survive the climate changes that they were experiencing and to deal with leaving their homes behind them. As the crew continued with their efforts to save the population they soon discovered a virus was spreading through the colonists. Racing against the clock, the medical staff worked hard to find the cure to save the population. With the colonists saved and set up in their new temporary homes, Triton remained in the system for several more weeks to ensure the colony’s new homes were safe and secure. By the end of the year the ship was ordered to head to Deep Space 10 to receive new orders.
The crew spent some well deserved R&R on the station and celebrated the New Year in while at DS-10. Starfleet finally sent the crew their next set of orders via Admiral Luke Duncan. Duncan had retired almost two years prior however was pulled out of retirement by Starfleet to lead a critical mission that only he had expertise and experience to carry out. He had been tasked to find Deep Space 19 and the Federation colony on Kovar which had gone missing the previous year. Triton would join with the USS Odyssey on a joint-mission that was publicised as an exploration mission but was in fact this was a front for the mission to find out if the missing station and colony had in fact been moved by a powerful anomaly from the Beta Quadrant to somewhere on the fringes of the Federation borders. Both Starfleet ships left Deep Space 10 and raced to the border to reach the possible new location of Deep Space 19. Due to the possible political ramifications of the mission, the Triton was upgraded with some new systems, mostly tactical based. Though their mission was a success, a number of officers lost their lives during a brief conflict with some elements of the Cardassian Union. Triton docked at Deep Space 19 and received repairs while the crew helped with relief efforts on the colony.
Once Triton was fully repaired the ship began its explorative mission of the Beta Quadrant. In three months, the ship made first contact with four new warp capable species. On all occasions the crew left these races in the hopes of developing relations further with them. The ship had mapped eleven systems by the time they returned to port. During their return home the crew was able to avert a disaster with the Cardassians involving a pre-warp society. Alongside this, they were able to stop elements of the Romulan Tal Shiar from gaining their hands on an Omega molecule. This mission itself was classified however it did cause some tension between Captain McCallister and the rest of his senior staff as he was unable to share with them the information about omega and why Triton was involved in such a highly secretive mission.
By the end of 2387, the crew of the Triton discovered how the Iconian technology that had moved DS-19 and Kovar from the Beta Quadrant to the Alpha Quadrant worked. Assisting their colleagues on DS-19, they were able to return the space station and colony back to their original position in the Beta Quadrant. Sadly though, during the process the Triton was heavily damaged and the Odyssey was destroyed.
2387-2399
While the Triton was taken to the Beta Antares Shipyards for major repairs, the entire crew was re-assigned elsewhere. Only twenty engineers were assigned to repair the ship, a job that would take another five years to complete which suffered from numerous delays. By 2392, Triton had completed its repairs and was re-launched. Assigned to assist with limited operations in the Gamma Quadrant, the Triton would go on to be one of a few Starfleet ships assigned to limited deep space exploration so far away from Federation territory. In 2398, the ship returned from the Gamma Quadrant in need of its next refit and was sent to the Devron Fleet Yards
2399+
The refit for the Triton took over a year, a majority of the work included computer enhancements. With Starfleet wanting to undertake further exploration missions, it was decided that the ship would be assigned as part of the Federation's efforts in exploring the Delta Quadrant. Eventually command was handed over to Captain Rio Canção, a former friend and mentor of Captain McCallister.
Crew
Command Staff
- Commanding Officer: Captain Rio Canção (El-Aurian Female) - 2399 - Present
- Executive Officer: Commander Jennifer Coulson (Human Female)
Lineage
The name Triton comes from Ancient Greek mythology. Triton is named after the Greek sea god Triton, the son of Poseidon (the Greek god comparable to the Roman Neptune). Triton is the name of the moon that orbits Neptune in the Sol system.
There have been many Earth naval ships named after Triton in both the British Royal Navy and the United States Navy.
Triton NV-21
The first starship to be named Triton, was an old Earth Starfleet Ganges-class. The Triton served for many years in the early days of Humanity's quest to explore the stars. She was assigned to protect the shipping lines between Earth and Andoria. Sadly though she was destroyed and lost with all hands during the closing days of the Earth-Romulan War. The Triton was responsible for destroying twelve Romulan ships and served alongside Andorian forces in defending the Andorian Empire.
USS Triton NCC-2147
The second starship to be named Triton, was an Excelsior-class launched in 2294. The ship would go on to serve Starfleet and the Federation for over fifty years until she was decommissioned in 2347. The ship had been involved in many assignments from a number of deep space exploration assignments to being involved in several conflicts with hostile neighbours. These include the Tomed Incident and the opening days of the Federation-Cardassian War. The Triton went through four captains and numerous refits.
In 2373, in the build-up to the Dominion War, Starfleet re-activated the Triton and she received a major refit to bring her in line with the latest technologies to help in defending the Federation. She served throughout the entire war until she was sadly lost at the last battle, the Battle of Cardassia.
USS Triton In Play
- Wanting to write for a non-humanoid character is no easy feat, but the opportunity to do it on a ship that is built for an infinite combination in diversity is certainly appealing. Players are encouraged to use their imagination and write for such fascinating creatures including the Aurelian, Horta, Edosians, Phylosian or Xindi.