USS Endeavour (NCC-87507)
The USS Endeavour NCC-87507 was a Manticore Class starship assigned to the Fourth Fleet under the command of Captain Matt Rourke. As one of the most combat-ready vessels in Starfleet, she was posted to some of the most fraught regions of the Federation in recent history, from The Triangle to the Archanis Sector and the Romulan Neutral Zone on peacekeeping operations. In late-2399, Endeavour was badly damaged by sabotage perpetrated by the Romulan Rebirth Movement, and decommissioned.
Design and Construction
Construction of the Manticore Class came in multiple planned waves. The initial batch demonstrated the value of the class, as ships were dispatched to volatile borders with minimal support and successfully protected Federation territory. The second wave was thus greenlit despite opposition from the scientific divisions of Starfleet, from whom resources were diverted to build these tactical vessels. A begrudging compromise was eventually reached with a redesign of the Manticore's scientific mission pods to include the latest and most sophisticated equipment, and a push for their installation as the default loadout. This transformed the second wave into a series of competent, if unimpressive and under-powered for their size, scientific vessels that would operate at and across the Federation's dangerous borders. Patrols could include further scientific surveys, or missions of exploration included a demonstration of Starfleet's tactical prowess.
These political manoeuvres led to the assignment of Captain Leo MacCallister to Endeavour, one of these second-wave Manticores. A seasoned explorer and diplomat, he had long lobbied for a return to Starfleet's mission of peace and exploration rather than insular non-interventionism, and personally oversaw the final stages of Endeavour's development. He ensured the installation of the scientific mission pod and streamlined the design of the ship's diplomatic facilities. Where many Manticores maintain a somewhat spartan interior, MacCallister pressed for a more habitable design that still befit a tactical vessel while making shipboard life more appealing, and arranged a civilian contractor for the main lounge. Most of these arrangements survived past MacCallister's command, giving Endeavour the feel, if not the specifications, of more of a classic Starfleet cruiser than either a luxurious modern explorer or ascetic tactical escort.
Upon assuming command, Matt Rourke instituted multiple changes. The most significant was the replacement of an anthropology laboratory with a Combat Information Centre, with modifications to the standard strategic analysis software. In conjunction with Chief of Operations Lieutenant Thawn and Chief of Security Lieutenant Kharth, Rourke oversaw a redesign for the CIC to process intelligence and investigative information, rather than merely tactical, to support the mission pursuing the Wild Hunt pirates. The CIC and its modifications have lasted beyond the Wild Hunt mission, ideally positioning Endeavour for data gathering and analysis operations across multiple systems and locations, be they focused on strategy, intelligence, or science. Rourke's establishment of a Hazard Team included modifications for their use, reallocating armoury and training facilities from the Security Department. While Rourke requested Endeavour's mission pod be replaced with the tactical variant, his assignment in pursuit of the Wild Hunt was resolved before this could be completed, and Rourke subsequently rescinded the request.
Endeavour has multiple auxiliary craft: four Type-12 shuttles and a New Atlantic-class runabout. In what was likely a provocative invocation of the myth of Camelot, Captain MacCallister named the four shuttles Galahad, Lancelot, Bedivere, and Percival, while naming the runabout King Arthur. Despite shuttles often being given a designation instead, the names have stuck, and lasted into Rourke's command.
Facilities
As a Manticore-class, Endeavour is not the most opulent or comfortable of assignments, but the high-pressure assignments on which she is usually dispatched meant her design included facilities for leisure and relaxation to support crew morale under stress. In addition to two holodecks, Endeavour boasts gym and recreation facilities, and multiple crew messes across different ship sections.
Officers' Mess
The mess on Deck 5 is reserved for the exclusive use of commissioned officers aboard Endeavour, who comprise an approximate fifth of the crew. Refreshments are provided by the replicator, though several of Endeavour's officers stock the staffed bar with drinks from their own supplies with varying levels of generosity. These can be enjoyed at the bar itself or the low, comfortable seating. The back section of the mess has a selection of tables for dining, most of them not big enough for more than four people.
It is a stripped-down space, with the cool steel and blue furnishings and fixtures of most of the ship, and limited personal touches or concessions made to comfort. Cosy lighting, a quiet atmosphere, close quarters, and its exclusive status makes it a place where those with some of the heaviest duties and responsibilities aboard can grab a bite to eat or a peaceful drink with one or two colleagues. If an officer of Endeavour wants to mingle in the crowd or enjoy a raucous atmosphere, they will do better in the lounge; the officers' mess is a quiet escape.
History
Early Operations
Under MacCallister's command, Endeavour spent three years in the Beta Quadrant conducting scientific surveys in regions considered too dangerous for other ships and mediating disputes where her firepower acted as a deterrent to violence. This decision was not uncontroversial, some in Starfleet Command considering it a waste of resources, but MacCallister's results were indisputable. The ship saw little combat action, though was acclaimed in 2397 for driving off an opportunistic Gorn incursion, and voices opposing MacCallister's command were forced into silence.
The Wild Hunt
In early 2399, Endeavour responded to a distress call from a freighter in the Midas Sector under assault by pirates. A seemingly-routine intervention turned to tragedy when one pirate ship destroyed the other to evade capture, a detonation that also damaged the nearby Endeavour. Multiple members of the senior staff were killed and Captain MacCallister grievously wounded. The pirates responsible were identified as the 'Wild Hunt,' well-established in the Midas Sector and in need of uprooting. Endeavour was assigned to this purpose when repaired, placed under Task Force 86 to reflect the new anti-pirate focus of her operation. Despite support among the crew for first officer Commander Valance to take command, Starfleet instead assigned seasoned investigator and former patrol boat commander Matt Rourke to lead Endeavour.
Under Commander Rourke, Endeavour pursued what transpired to be a well-equipped and organised pirate gang seemingly led by a renegade Starfleet officer. Shifting the crew to a tactical footing, Rourke faced some opposition from the current staff for moves that seemed to undermine Captain MacCallister's ideology, including the institution of the Hazard Team and installation of the CiC. Entering a region long-overlooked by Starfleet, Endeavour buoyed up local law enforcement and protected colonies long-preyed upon by the Wild Hunt. Indications the group went to ground in Klingon territory led to suggestions of affiliation with, if not outright support from, the House of Mo'Kai. Eventually, the Wild Hunt's base of operations was tracked to a former mining facility in the Azure Nebula, within The Triangle, and a small task group was gathered that sought and destroyed the facility, eliminating the pirate group as a regional threat.
Archanis
Matthew Rourke was offered permanent command of Endeavour and promoted to Captain, and retained the senior staff in their current positions. Diplomatic overtures with the Gorn opened a region bordering the Hegemony to new scientific surveys from Starfleet, to which the well-protected Endeavour was assigned as a demonstration of local strength as much as for exploratory operations. This mission was interrupted by the incursion into the Archanis Sector by the Hunters of D'Ghor, to which the Fourth Fleet was assigned and Endeavour rapidly redeployed.
With instructions to hunt down a senior D'Ghor captain, Endeavour provided relief to stricken worlds before intervening at the Elgatis Belt to incapacitate the Klingon raider. Badly damaged despite this victory, she proceeded to the shipyards of the Haydorian System to repair and bolster local defences. In the Battle of Archanis, Endeavour protected fringe outposts and settlements of the Haydorian System, before proceeding to the Taldir System to provide emergency reinforcements.
The Omega Crisis
After operations in the Archanis Sector, Endeavour received extensive maintenance and repair at Starbase Bravo, before being dispatched to the old Romulan Neutral Zone. There the crew successfully rescued the researcher Dr Karl T'Sann from the hands of the Romulan Rebirth Movement on the refugee relocation hub world of Teros, before offering humanitarian support to the locals in an effort to undermine the Movement. This was interrupted by the galactic-wide manifestations of the Omega molecule, with molecules detected in the vicinity of Teros. Efforts by Endeavour's crew to eliminate these were undermined by the arrival of the Star Navy vessel Erem, which beamed molecules aboard before trying to flee, and after ignoring warnings was destroyed on Captain Rourke's orders.
Despite this clash with the Star Empire, Endeavour remained in the area for the ensuing investigations of Tkon technological involvement in the Omega crisis. Pursuit of a lead on a series of ancient Tkon star-maps led Endeavour to the Star Empire border world of Jhorkesh, where they discovered the Empire had placed a bounty on Rourke's head for the destruction of the Erem. Rourke was captured by Romulan forces and XO Commander Valance forced to launch a rescue operation into Star Empire territory. Endeavour continued to play a key part in the re-establishment of the Tkon beacon network that sustained the Galactic Barrier, locating and restoring one such beacon on the world of Ephrath on the border between the Republic and the Star Empire.
Decommissioning
After the Omega crisis, Endeavour was dispatched to the Romulan Neutral Zone to begin diplomatic operations in the region. En route, a detonation aboard triggered a coolant leak, forcing the evacuation of the ship and the ejection of the warp core. The warp core's detonation and the extensive damage of the initial explosion caused sufficient damage to completely cripple the ship. While most of the crew escaped and survived, the damage to Endeavour was so extensive that Starfleet engineers judged her beyond repair. USS Endeavour NCC-87507 was decommissioned in December of 2399, and some months later succeeded by the newly-constructed Constitution III-class successor.
Soon after the incident, the Romulan Rebirth Movement released a statement claiming responsibility for the attacks after Starfleet's newest foray into the Neutral Zone, with Endeavour deemed a high-profile target after her entanglements with the Romulan Star Empire.
Notable Crew
Commanding Officers
- 2396 - 2399: Captain Leonidas MacCallister
- 2399: Captain Matt Rourke