USS Pioneer
- "Curiosity is the essence of our existence."
- —Gene Cernan
USS Pioneer (NCC-74657) is an Intrepid-class light explorer of Fourth Fleet's Task Force 47. One of the first Intrepid-class ships built, the Pioneer served with distinction during the Dominion War, triumphing in several engagements during the course of the war. Following the Dominion surrender in 2375, the Pioneer was reassigned to do what it was designed to do: exploration. After being saved from mothballs in 2400 and undergoing a year long retrofit, the Pioneer, now under the command of Captain Kosev Thiren, resumes its mission to seek out new life and new civilizations, and to boldly go where no one has gone before.
Design and Layout
Main Article: Intrepid-class light explorer
During the Pioneer's year long retrofit to update its systems to 25th century standards and technology, it was made very clear by Captain Thiren to the work crews at Avalon Fleet Yards that the overall design and feel of the starship remain very much unchanged from the original Intrepid design language. When walking through the Pioneer, you find yourself on a familiar design, albeit with updated internals and technology to bring the starship into the 25th century. Interfaces and consoles have been updated and in most cases upgraded to the newest LCARS standards, but the overall design of the vessel was left intact per the Captain's instructions.
Support Craft
Type-12 Shuttles
Goodall, Seaford, Cobalt
Type-11 Shuttles
Erebus, Vesuvius, Olympus
Delta-class Runabout
Thunderbird
Aeroshuttle
Bigbee
History
The Intrepid-class USS Pioneer, coming back from another tour of exploration in deep space, was set to transfer to the reserves or 'Mothballs' due to the lack of consistent upgrades and interest in the now aging platform. When the Pioneer arrived at Avalon Fleet Yards, it caught the eye of Captain Kosev Thiren who, at the time, was currently without a starship and awaiting reassignment. Reading up on the ship's history and discovering that the vessel served with distinction during the Dominion War, winning every engagement it participated in, Kosev petitioned then head of Task Force 47, Fleet Captain Alexandra T'Rin Sudari-Kravchik, to have the USS Pioneer assigned as his new command. With his request being granted, the vessel spent the next year at Avalon Fleet Yards receiving a major retrofit before being placed back into active service in February of 2401.
When the Pioneer arrived at Farpoint Station to pick up the rest of their crew, Captain Thiren received a priority communication from Fourth Fleet Command about The Lost Fleet invading the Deneb sector. Holding a briefing with his senior staff, Thiren revealed a new priority mission that the Pioneer had been assigned: infiltrate behind enemy lines and destroy a secret Ketracel-white facility. With the Federation News Network refusing to call attention to the invasion, instead citing that the attacks were nothing more than a Breen border skirmish, the Fourth Fleet stood alone against the Dominion, and they needed every edge they could get to turn the tide. So, the Pioneer was dispatched to destroy the facility.
Utilizing technology and intelligence gathered by another famous Intrepid-class starship, the Pioneer was able to avoid detection during the entire trip to Saxue. Once there, they entered the nebula, located the facility, and launched a daring plan to destroy the lab to give the Fourth Fleet the edge they needed to win this fight. With the facility destroyed, the Pioneer retreated at maximum warp to Farpoint Station, where they arrived just in time to take part in the final offensive launched by Dominion forces. Together with the Fourth Fleet, the crew of the Pioneer were successful in repelling the attack and protecting the Deneb sector.
With the battle over, the Pioneer set course for Avalon Fleet Yards for crew rotation and repairs in preparation for the Frontier Day festivities.