USS Endeavour (NCC-87507)
The USS Endeavour is a Manticore Class starship assigned to Task Force 86 under the command of Captain Matt Rourke. As one of the most combat-ready vessels in Starfleet, she is regularly assigned to the Federation's most fraught borders, particularly in the vicinity of The Triangle. Equipped with a Combat Information Centre for strategic analysis of ongoing threats and with several among her command staff seasoned in criminal investigations and anti-piracy operations, Endeavour is commonly dispatched to counter organised threats to Federation border worlds.
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.
History
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.
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 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, 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 for their final apprehension.
Senior Staff
- Commanding Officer: Captain Matt Rourke, Human Male from Earth
- Executive Officer: Commander Karana Valance, Human/Klingon Female from Cantelle Colony
- Chief Science Officer/Second Officer: Lieutenant Commander Davir Airex, Trill (Joined) Male from Trill
- Chief Engineer: Lieutenant Commander Isabella Cortez, Human Female from Archer IV
- Chief of Security/Tactical: Lieutenant Saeihr t'Kharth, Romulan Female from Romulus
- Officer of the Watch/Hazard Team Leader: Lieutenant Adamant Rhade, Betazoid Male from Betazed
- Strategic Operations Officer: Lieutenant Dathan Tahla, Bajoran Female from Bajor
- Chief Medical Officer: Lieutenant Commander Aisha Sadek, Human Female from Vega
- Chief Counsellor: Lieutenant Gregory Carraway, Human Male from Luna
- Chief of Operations: Lieutenant Junior Grade Rosara Thawn, Betazoid Female from Betazed
- Chief Flight Control Officer: Lieutenant Junior Grade Connor Drake, Human Male from New Sydney
- Chief Communications Officer: Lieutenant Junior Grade Elsa Lindgren, Human Female from Earth
Missions
Mission 1: Out for Stars
After the tragic events at Thuecho, the USS Endeavour receives its new crew, orders - and commander. Despite losses, damage, and the unpopularity of Starfleet Command's choice, the ship is dispatched to the Midas Sector to bring to heel the pirates who murdered their own and marauded civilians for months.
Mission 2: So Eden Sank
In pursuit of the Wild Hunt pirates, Endeavour visits the agricultural colony of Lockstowe in the Midas Sector. But what they learn of their quarry gives more new questions than answers, and as the tables are turned on them it becomes less clear if they are hunting, or are the hunted.
Mission 3: To the Dark House
Commander Rourke connects with old allies from the Klingon Empire to help chase the Wild Hunt across the border. After sending an away team by runabout to T'lhab Station, an independent base in Klingon territory suspected of housing Wild Hunt supporters, it becomes clear the House of Mo'Kai keep a keen eye on any faction or event that might help them - or need eradicating.
Mission 4: The Road Not Taken
Armed with the location of the Wild Hunt's base, Endeavour races to a rendezvous with the task group to take them out. But an encounter with a mysterious anomaly at the outskirts of the Azure Nebula leaves them dead in space, the crew scattered and stranded across the ship - and seeing things that stretch credulity.
Mission 5: Promises to Keep
At last, Endeavour descends upon the Wild Hunt's hiding space. But Starfleet allies promise to be political adversaries, their enemies threaten to be not just before them, but amongst them, and still the true secret of the Wild Hunt's nature and identity looms...