Difference between pages "Excelsior Refit Class" and "USS Arcturus"

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{{Specifications
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{{Starship
| image = [[Image:Excelrefit.png|275px]]
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| name = Arcturus
| name = ''Excelsior Refit''
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| prefix = USS
| affiliation = Starfleet
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| image = [[file:ArcturusNCC84000.png|375px]]
| role = Heavy Cruiser
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| registry = NCC-84000
| dateEntered = 2294
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| class = [[Odyssey Class|''Odyssey'' Class]]
| expectedLife = 100 Years
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| affiliation = [[Starfleet]]
| expectedRefit = 10 Years
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| status = Active
| timeResupply = 5 Years
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| commission = 2399
| crewComplement = 650
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| decommission =  
| emergencyCap = 1,500
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| destroyed =  
| length = 467 meters
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| taskforce = [[Task Force 17]]
| width = 181.6 meters
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| quadrant = Delta Quadrant
| height = 77.8 meters
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| role = Explorer
| decks = 28
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| co = [[bfms_char:14961|Captain Michael Lancaster]]
| propulsionSystem = Matter/Antimatter powered warp drive
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| xo = [[bfms_char:28322|Captain Song Hyo]]
| cruiseSpeed = Warp 7
 
| maxSpeed = Warp 8.8
 
| emergencySpeed = Warp 9.4 (12 hours)
 
| energyWeapons =*12x Type-VIII Dual Emitter Phaser Banks
 
| torpLaunchers =*2 forward
 
*2 aft
 
| torpPayload =*200 Photon Torpedoes
 
| shields =Multi-Layered Shielding System
 
| shuttleBays =2
 
| shuttles =10
 
| runabouts =2
 
 
}}
 
}}
  
== Class Overview ==
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The '''USS ''Arcturus''''' is an [[Odyssey Class|''Odyssey'' Class]] starship assigned to [[Task Force 17]] under the command of [[bfms_char:14961|Captain Michael Lancaster]], serving as the flagship for [[bfms_char:15254|Rear Admiral Elizabeth Hayden's]] long-duration Delta Quadrant expedition. As a member of the largest class in Starfleet, she has a crew of 2,500 and serves as a mobile base of operation for a flotilla of runabouts and a handful of smaller starships assigned to operations in the Nacene Reach, with the goal of exploring the area first encountered by the starship ''Voyager'' in greater detail than was possible during the early days of her journey home. Unlike her sister ships, the ''Arcturus'' has been specifically built to command missions of extreme distance and duration, with greater system redundancy and industrial fabrication capabilities than is standard for ''Odyssey''-class ships which are more often used for diplomatic and command duties closer to the Federation.  
Like any ship class, changes were made to the Excelsior throughout her build program. While most of these were relatively minor and left little outward appearance of change evident, in 2293 a very significant change was authorized for the USS ''Enterprise'' NCC-1701-B which was then in the later stages of construction. These included an extra set of impulse engines on the saucer section, flares on the side of the engineering hull, and a minor change in configuration for the warp nacelles. These modifications were designed to increase the Excelsior’s already robust exploratory capabilities to include missions of even greater durations, with additional fuel and energy production systems, as well as substantial mission-configurable spaces in the hull flares for scientific equipment. The Enterprise herself was equipped with advanced long-range sensors.
 
  
By 2310, the advanced sensors that the vessels had been outfit with had become part of the standard sensor package on all Starfleet ships. The promised increased maneuverability of the additional impulse engines had never truly lived up to Starfleet’s expectations, and it was becoming increasingly felt that the hull space that was given up for additional impulse reactors and engine systems could be put to better use in order to house advanced scientific equipment and facilities. By 2315, all following ''Excelsiors'' were once again built to the original configuration. The altered design have been variously refered to as the “''Enteprise''-class”, the “long-hull group”, or the “''Excelsior'' refit”. However, Starfleet never held any institutional difference between the long-hull and standard Excelsior configurations, and refits and upgrades have been applied to both groups equally in the intervening years leaving little difference, aside from the obvious cosmetic ones, between the two.
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===Design and Construction (2394-2399)===
  
=== Science and Exploration ===
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Following the destruction of Utopia Planitia in 2385, Starfleet's shipbuilding priorities were thrown into disarray, as a substantial number of the Federation's large shipyards had been temporarily diverted to producing evacuation transports for the Romulan relocation effort, at the expense of larger explorers and dedicated science vessels. In the chaos that resulted from the destabilization and reorganization of the Romulan Star Empire just a few years later, Starfleet began prioritizing vessels that could be assigned to defensive duties and which would be used to maintain the integrity of the Federation's borders. In the mid-2390s, though, certain factions within Starfleet's higher echelons were successful in securing resources to plan a return to long-range exploratory missions, especially those that could be carried out by the newly-built ''Century'' and ''Vesta''-class starships which represented new standards in automation, efficiency, and independence. While these vessels were especially well-suited for solo missions in the Alpha and Beta quadrants that would eventually be followed up on by science vessels, the Delta Exploration Initiative pushed for expeditions that would be able to support multiple starships for an extended period in an environment without bases or supply depots.  
Excelsior-class starships have been used both as frontline explorers and as scientific platforms for use within Federation space. In their day, they were the most capable explorers Starfleet had, but their scientific facilities in the 2390s lag far behind more modern ships. One advantage they have over smaller, more modern ships is ample space for mission-configurable labs and sensors. It is rare to have an Excelsior-class ship posted on a true exploratory mission in the present era, but they’re often dispatched on scientific surveys to follow up on discoveries made by more modern ships. They remain relatively fast and as fewer of them are devoted to front-line duties, they make excellent transports for scientific expeditions in areas where a science vessel might be more vulnerable.
 
  
=== Diplomacy ===
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As such, the Arcturus was ordered in 2394 as an experimental variant of the Odyssey-class which would include greater system redundancy and industrial fabrication capabilities to allow it to serve as a long-range base of operations for an expedition to the Delta Quadrant. As a proof of concept, she would embark on a three-month trial mission through the Barzan Wormhole into the Delta Quadrant starting in early 2399 and accompanied by a task group from the Fourth Fleet's Task Force 38. Even before construction had started, then-Fleet Captain Elizabeth Hayden was selected as her commanding officer and of the task group. While many construction sites were considered, the Starfleet Corps of Engineers settled on Epsilon Indi Station, to test the feasibility of building large explorers at Starfleet's smaller construction facilities, using modular assembly protocols with individual sections of the ship brought in from other small bases and then integrated at Epsilon Indi, with the eventual goal of reducing the reliance on large fleet yards such as Utopia Planitia.
Excelsior-class ships have long been used as transports for flag officers and ambassadors, thanks to their good speed and tactical abilities, though they have fallen out of favor in recent decades. They continue to be used for this purpose with smaller crews, however, especially by flag officers who prefer not to tie up a more modern asset. They have long served as a symbol of the Federation and have an instantly-recognizable silhouette, and their relative economy makes them preferable to larger ships for lower-tier negotiations.  
 
  
These ships have several onboard conference lounges but are inferior to their successor classes in terms of space to host diplomatic entourages.  
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Though several other ships of the class had already been built, the process was lengthened by the modifications made to both the internal systems and the exterior hull geometry of the Arcturus for her specialized mission parameters, which resulted in a primary hull that was closer in shape to the older ''Galaxy''-class, the elliptical shape allowing for more quarters with viewports and expanded crew support facilities in the primary hull. The secondary hull was also given a rounder shape to accommodate the extra industrial replicator complexes, ship's stores, and a large recreation deck for the secondary hull crew. While the shield and phaser systems were identical to the base class, an additional set of torpedo launchers was added on either side of the main navigational deflector, to provide the ship with enough additional firepower to discourage hostile forces from engaging her.
  
=== Engineering ===
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The Class-9 warp drive system from the base class was retained, but the power conduits and structure of the core itself were both reinforced and fitted with redundant backups of nearly every component to allow for longer stretches without maintenance. The saucer warp drive system was also enhanced to allow for more than just occasional jaunts away from the stardrive section, with the goal of allowing each section to operate independently for longer periods of time on separate exploratory missions. In addition, the ship's rear structure was adapted to allow for both the primary impulse engines in the ship's interconnecting dorsal and the saucer impulse engines to both be available in all flight modes. Combined with the impulse jets integrated into the ship's warp nacelle pylons, this gave the ''Arcturus'' sublight speeds that matched or exceeded any escort-class starship of the same vintage.  
This class is a refinement of the general geometry at work in the ''Constitution''-class, with two long, slender nacelles and a stretched secondary hull that gives this ship the appearance of speed, while still retaining the obvious and immediate impression that it is absolutely a Federation starship. She would eventually prove to be the inspiration for the later ''Sovereign''-class.
 
  
This class was initially developed to test the efficacy of what was then-dubbed transwarp drive, an engine design that went far beyond the speeds of “standard” warp drives, which used symmetrical semi-toroidal warp nacelles to create a more complex warp field geometry that would achieve greater efficiency than the various other configurations which had been tried. Projections for this were that the ship would be able to achieve speeds up to ten times greater than the Constitution-class. While it did provide substantial gains in speed, the Excelsior-class ended up being only three times as fast as her predecessor, and this was only after extensive calibrations and experimentation. Still, this led to the end of the Cochrane Warp Scale and the introduction of the Revised Warp Scale.  
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The widest deck of the saucer section (given the ship's overall shape, on the Arcturus the primary hull was never referred to as the "chevron") was home to a wide gallery that ran the perimeter of the exterior, from one impulse engine all the way around to the other. On the interior side were art installations, planters, and quiet spaces for nutrition and relaxation. On the exterior side were lounges that had broad windows looking out into space, which led directly to the gallery itself. Based on deck ten of the ''Galaxy''-class, this space was built to give the ship's crew open spaces that would help fight against the natural isolation and claustrophobia that came from long-duration exploratory missions. Amidships was a large lounge forward, which was placed in front of the ship's main promenade, a three-deck open area that included further biological installations, restaurants staffed by holographic beings, and more open space to help the crew cope with long missions away from starbases by providing a large, open space that mimicked a city center.  
  
These ships have seen service for so long that their design characteristics are very well-known, which has eased maintenance needs as they have aged. They are still more intensive than more modern ships of their size, but their minimum crew requirements have been reduced from 380 to 200 (in terms of engineering personnel) with more automation. This was beneficial during the Dominion War, as it allowed them to pare down their crew sizes to help man ships coming off the assembly line and out of the mothball yards.
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====Construction at Epsilon Indi====
  
These ships contain three shuttle bays, one forward in the neck which also connects to secondary cargo bays, one aft which is the primary facility for small craft launch and retrieval, and a larger bay in the undercut of the secondary hull that also connects to the main cargo bays.
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Captain Akintoye Okusanya was selected to oversee the design and construction phases for the ''Arcturus'', with the first hull sections beginning construction in early 2395.
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Construction proceeded without significant issues, and in 2396 then-Commander Michael Lancaster, the Chief of Staff of the Delta Exploration Initiative, began to develop a crew roster and equipment manifest suitable for the Arcturus's stated three-month trial mission as well as the very real possibility that the ship and those accompanying her would find themselves stranded 70,000 light-years from home and need to make their way back via conventional means, should the wormhole's stability fail. Lancaster was eventually promoted to Captain and assigned as Hayden's first officer, alongside Okusanya as Captain of Engineering, and a fourth captain to lead the ship's medical department: Captain Alenis Anjar, M.D., both because of the sheer size of the ship's crew and to ensure that there would be a deep bench of command talent to pull from, should one or more of the ship's senior officers be killed during the course of the mission.
  
Excelsior-class ships have received incremental upgrades over the years to nearly every system, which has led to considerable internal variation among the vessels of this class.
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===Operational History (2399-Present)===
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Since her launch in early 2399, the ''Arcturus'' has served as a front-line exploratory starship.  
  
=== Tactical ===
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====Departure from Epsilon Indi====
The ''Excelsior''-class starship was the first vessel to be equipped with the Type-VIII phaser ball turrets, which offered a considerable improvement over the earlier Type-VII banks in use aboard the ''Constitution''. These were mounted in ten double banks on the dorsal and ventral surfaces of the saucer, as opposed to just six on the Constitution, as well as four single banks on the ventral surface of the engineering hull. In addition to this, there are six torpedo launchers, two standard mounts fore, and aft, as well as two retractable mounts in the forward shuttle bay.
 
  
The ship was also initially built with the most powerful shielding available, which made her one of the most powerful ships in the quadrant, more than a match for a comparable Klingon or Romulan design. As they were upgraded over the years, they remained a sturdy cruiser for large fleet engagements, though a number of them were destroyed.
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The ''Arcturus'' was launched in early 2399 from Epsilon Indi Station. [https://forums.bravofleet.com/index.php?p=/discussion/comment/342/#Comment_342 On the eve of the ship's departure to the Barzan system], the Waverider shuttle carrying the ship's first officer and a handful of other officers on their way to join the crew was hijacked by a Starfleet officer who had become disaffected with Starfleet's return towards pre-Mars shipbuilding levels, which he felt put the population of the Federation at the same risk of the thousands who lost their lives during the attack on Utopia Planitia fourteen years prior. Captain Lancaster and his associates were able to defeat his plot to destroy Epsilon Indi station, and the ''Arcturus'' continued on schedule to its mission.
  
By 2399, most of these vessels have received the upgrades developed for the USS ''Lakota'', including phasers that have been upgraded to Type-X standards mounted in the same position as emitter banks as the original ball turrets. They also have the ability to fire quantum torpedoes, though they seldom carry them.
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====Alpha Quadrant War Games====
  
''Excelsior''-class ships are often used for pirate interdiction, customs inspection, and general patrol duties.
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Prior to departure from Guardian Station in the Alpha Quadrant, [https://forums.bravofleet.com/index.php?p=/discussion/comment/360/#Comment_360 the ''Arcturus'' engaged in a war game scenario with a wing of destroyers from the Andorian Imperial Guard], at the behest of the Delta Exploration Initiative's leader, Vice Admiral Jonathan Knox. The Andorians were selected as their vessels and tactics were believed to approximate what the Kazon in the Delta Quadrant could have achieved with thirty years of growth since the last time Voyager was present; their largely forward-oriented weapons and high maneuverability would be a substantial threat to a large vessel like the ''Arcturus''. Thanks to the actions of the crew of the ''Apollo'', the ''Arcturus'''s battle group won the day, leaving the ship ready to depart with a crew in good spirits from a recent win.
  
=== Shipboard Life ===
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====Delta Quadrant Katabasis====
Though she has proved venerable in service, the ''Excelsior''-class is still an old-style starship and has more cramped interiors than other more modern vessels. As her crew requirements have lessened, some improvements have been made to their accommodation standard, but enlisted personnel still generally sleep in bunk rooms and ensigns and junior lieutenants share quarters. They have been retrofitted with holodecks and other modern conveniences, but lack the shipwide holographic projectors common to other ships.
 
  
''Excelsior-''class medical facilities are well-equipped, which makes them suited for humanitarian missions. They also have ample cargo space, which can be used as emergency triaging facilities or to transport cargo in bulk. Because of this, these ships are often sent on transport or mercy missions, and their crews don’t see a lot of combat.
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Proceeding at high warp on a month-long journey from the wormhole towards Ocampa, the Arcturus's first priorities in the Delta Quadrant were to demonstrate their ship's preparedness to operate independently from Starfleet and to document the current conditions in the Delta Quadrant along the 800 light-year corridor connecting the Barzan Wormhole and the area known as the Nacene Reach, to help decided future exploration and diplomatic priorities. During this journey, the ''Arcturus'' recovered the wreck of the USS ''Strickland'', a science vessel that had been thrown into the reach due to a warp coil imbalance and which later participated in the stabilization of the Barzan Wormhole.  
  
Officers aboard these vessels tend to be quite junior, as it’s not a particularly important posting. Some captains are brand new and some have been aboard their ships for 20 or 30 years, however, as the sentimental attraction to these vessels is great.
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====Ocampan Second Contact====
  
== Class History ==
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Upon reaching the Ocampa system, the place that ''Voyager'''s journey home began, the Arcturus completed a detailed survey and inventory of the remains of the Caretaker's array, finding nearly all of the debris removed entirely from the site, followed by a detailed scan of the Ocampan homeworld. While initially believed to be unihabited, the Ocampa were eventually revealed to be still living in their subterranean city, using tetryon reactors reverse-engineered from the array. This group of Ocampa believed that their survival was dependent on their isolation and they lived as if they were still being supported by the Caretaker, as his technology was now maintaining their way of life without his direct intervention. Contact was also made with splinter factions of the Ocampa, the two so-far known to exist being a militant isolationist faction which used comandeered and enhanced Kazon vessels to aggressively defend a small number of systems near Ocampa (and to respond to incursions on the Ocampan homeworld) and an exploratory faction who wanted to seek out connections with their neighbors. These ideologically-distinct factions were attributed to the societal development that occured in the five Ocampan generations that had been born since ''Voyager'' left, as fewer Ocampa were willing to subscribe to orthodoxy following the Caretaker's death.
Dubbed the Great Experiment, the ''Excelsior''-class was meant to revolutionize space travel, which it ''did'' but not to the degree that Starfleet had hoped. The new engine designs used aboard this craft led to speeds up to triple those of previous heavy cruisers, but this fell far short of the projections of speeds coming ten or twenty times that. Excelsior herself was used as a testbed for several years as kinks were worked out, but this work eventually led to the development of the Revised Warp Scale which placed Warp 10 as unlimited speed, rather than continuing to add warp factors to the previous Cochrane Scale.
 
  
These ships immediately proved to be such a marked improvement over the ''Constitution'' that many ''Constitution''-class ships were retired well before their end-of-life date had been reached. Some of the advancements were applied to contemporary classes like the Miranda-class, but the new heavy cruiser design, the ''Constellation'' was a ground-up reconfiguration of ''Constitution''-class components that was thought a better use of resources than continuing to refit the ''Constitution'', so two generations of technology continued in production together for several years.
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====Anabasis to the Wormhole====
  
Originally designated officially as a super-heavy cruiser (to avoid the distinction of ‘battleship’), this class became the standard for showing the Federation flag for over seventy years, participating in exploratory missions and combat missions to great acclaim. Several generations of Starfleet officers cut their teeth on these ships, which has led to considerable emotional attachment to the class.
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With second contact and diplomatic relations achieved between the Federation and Ocampa, the ''Arcturus'' left a communications relay in orbit connected to a network being deployed by engineering support ships in their group, which the Ocampa shielded with the same technology that allowed their city to remain hidden, and the Arcturus began her journey back towards the wormhole with data from other successful contacts from her task group to report back and to check the results of automated probes left in her wake. Along the way, the ''Arcturus'' rendezvoused with the ''Apollo'', which had suffered engine damage during an encounter with the Kazon. With the much smaller ship attached to the Arcturus via magnetic clamps, ''Arcturus'' proceeded through the wormhole back to Barzan II.
  
The ''Excelsior''-class was dominant in a period of Starfleet’s history where the Federation was largely at peace, so they were rarely tested in their combat roles in any serious way, until the Cardassian Wars in the 2350s, and then later the Borg conflict, and the Dominion War, where a significant portion of them were lost.
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====Attack on Guardian Station====
  
This class was succeeded in production by the ''Nebula''-class in the 2360s. With modernizations, they continue into service in the present day, though only in a fraction of the numbers they once had. It is envisioned that by 2410, this class will be fully decommissioned, as the youngest members of this class will be pushing 60 years at that point.  
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When the ''Arcturus'' emerged, though, Guardian Station was under attack by the Breen. Moments after the Arcturus raised shields and prepared to engage, Admiral Knox's flagship purposefully rammed a Breen dreadnought, vaporizing both ships. The ''Sovereign''-class USS ''Seleya'' was burning in space, and the ''Challenger''-class USS ''Shahid'' had been destroyed completely. With an investigation underway and a sudden vacuum in leadership in the region, Fleet Captain Hayden was promoted directly to Rear Admiral and ordered to maintain order with a newly-reformulated Task Force 9 along the Breen Border. Captain Lancaster was promoted to the ship's commanding officer and in turn the ship's senior officer of the watch, Commander Song Hyo, was promoted to the substantive rank of captain and position of Executive Officer.
  
== In Play ==
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====Return to the Delta Quadrant====
  
* The Excelsior-class is a very old design, but it is the first 'modern' starship design in the sense that it represents such a step above the preceding classes in terms of warp power and size. This old heavy cruiser is hanging on in the same way that modern bombers and nuclear submarines do from sheer reliability and utility. They're still relatively ubiquitous within Federation space and they're still a ship you would think twice about attacking.
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While Hayden was able to coordinate Starfleet's response to increasing Breen aggression, once more tactically-suitable vessels were brought into the region, Starfleet refocused its attention to using the ''Arcturus'' for its intended purpose: long-range exploration, and so the ''Arcturus'' was re-deployed to the Delta Quadrant with a new mandate for a five-year mission with the possibility for indefinite renewal.
* Excelsior-class ships either have green captains running supply and patrol missions, or they have captains who have become attached to them and have served there for thirty or forty years.
 
* An Excelsior-class ship is over-kill for a lot of the missions it now founds itself on, give her size and capabilities, but she frees up more modern ships to operate along the frontier. It would be very rare for a ship of this class to be sent on any sort of long-range mission in 2399.
 
* The Excelsior Refit and the Excelsior are nearly identical, other than cosmetically.
 
  
[[Category:Federation starship classes]]
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===Notable Crew (Mid-2399)===
[[Category:Heavy Cruisers]]
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With a crew of over twice the size of the previous largest starship in the fleet (the ''Galaxy''-class explorer) and an extended-duration mission profile, the Arcturus has more senior officers than most other starships, with a command structure closer to a major starbase than the average explorer. The ship's captain reports to the mission commander. Reporting to him is the executive officer (overseeing bridge officers), to whom the captain of engineering (overseeing the ship's systems), and the captain of science and medicine, who are both officers holding the substantive rank of Captain and who are both recognized experts in their field, report.
 +
 
 +
*Mission Commander: [[bfms_char:15254|Rear Admiral Elizabeth Hayden]], Human asexual cisgender female from the United States of America, Earth
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**Commanding Officer: [[bfms_char:14961|Captain Michael Lancaster]], Human gay cisgender male from the United States of America, Earth
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***Executive Officer: [[bfms_char:28322|Captain Song Hyo]], Human bisexual cisgender male from Tycho City, Luna
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****Senior Officer of the Watch: Commander: Commander Athera "Rina" Sh'rinan, Andorian asexual cisgender shen from Andoria
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*****Chief Flight Control Officer: [[bfms_char:28336|Lieutenant Tellora]], Klingon straight cisgender female from Morska.
 +
****Chief Operations Officer: [[bfms_char:28330|Commander Larus Alesser]], Ardanan bisexual cisgender male from Ardana
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*****Chief Communications Officer: Lieutenant Commander Ohala, Bolian gay cisgender male from Bolarus IX.
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****Chief Tactical Officer: [[bfms_char:28326|Lieutenant Commander Dealhi Odea]], Betazoid straight cisgender Female from Betazed
 +
****Chief Security Officer: [[bfms_char:28324|Lieutenant Commander Evandrion]], Deltan pansexual cisgender male from Delta IV
 +
*****Hazard Team Alpha Commanding Officer: [[bfms_char:23273|Lieutenant Harper Bowen]], Human bisexual cisgender male from Cygnia Beta
 +
*****Hazard Team Beta Commanding Officer: [[bfms_char:23754|Lieutenant Nathaniel "Nate" Windsor]], Human gay cisgender male from Penthara IV
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****Captain of Engineering / Second Officer: [[bfms_char:16177|Captain Akintoye Okusanya]] Human straight transgender female from the African Union, Earth
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*****First Assistant Chief Engineering Officer: [[bfms_char:|Commander Glatha Chors]] Tellarite lesbian cisgender female from Tellar Prime
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*****Second Assistant Chief Engineering Officer: [[bfms_char:15231|Commander Noah Slater]] Human gay cisgender male from Canada, Earth
 +
*****SCE Detachment Commanding Officer: [[bfms_char:17357|Lieutenant Commander Jonathan "Jack" VanDorland]] Human bisexual cisgender male from Canada, Earth
 +
****Captain of Medicine & Science / Third Officer: [[bfms_char:26959|Captain Alenis Anjar, M.D.]] Bajoran gay cisgender male from Ashalla Province, Bajor
 +
*****Chief Science Officer: [[bfms_char:28332|Commander Benjamin Walker]], Human gay transgender male from the United Kingdom of Great Britain, Earth
 +
*****Chief Counselor: [[bfms_char:28334|Commander Midiri Kaer]] Trill pansexual cisgender female from the United States of America, Earth
 +
******Assistant Chief Counselor: [[bfms_char:17349|Lieutenant Commander Austin Carver]] Human pansexual cisgender male from the United States of America, Earth.
 +
*****First Assistant Chief Medical Officer: [[bfms_char:|Commander (Provisional) Tenesh]] Orion pansexual cisgender female from Qo'noS.
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*****Second Assistant Chief Medical Officer: [[bfms_char:15530|Commander Luca Sheppard]] Human bisexual cisgender male from the European Union, Earth
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**Chief Strategic Operations Officer/Mission Commander's Chief of Staff: [[bfms_char:28351|Lieutenant Commander Voral]], Vulcan gay cisgender male from Cor Caroli IX
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***Mission Commander's Aide-de-Campe: [[bfms_char:22214|Lieutenant Junior Grade Cooper Robinson]], Human gay cisgender male from Canada, Earth
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****Mission Commander's Master Chief Yeoman: Master Chief Yeoman Clurga Diemc, Zakdorn straight cisgender female from Zakdorn

Revision as of 08:45, 29 January 2021

375px
USS Arcturus
General Information
Registry NCC-84000
Class & Type [[Odyssey Class Class|Odyssey Class-class]]
Affiliation Starfleet
Status Active
Commissioned 2399
Assignment
Task Force [[Task Force 17]]
Role Explorer
Key Personnel
Commanding Officer Captain Michael Lancaster
Executive Officer Captain Song Hyo
Template:Starship

[[Category:Odyssey Class-class]][[Category:Task Force 17]]


The USS Arcturus is an Odyssey Class starship assigned to Task Force 17 under the command of Captain Michael Lancaster, serving as the flagship for Rear Admiral Elizabeth Hayden's long-duration Delta Quadrant expedition. As a member of the largest class in Starfleet, she has a crew of 2,500 and serves as a mobile base of operation for a flotilla of runabouts and a handful of smaller starships assigned to operations in the Nacene Reach, with the goal of exploring the area first encountered by the starship Voyager in greater detail than was possible during the early days of her journey home. Unlike her sister ships, the Arcturus has been specifically built to command missions of extreme distance and duration, with greater system redundancy and industrial fabrication capabilities than is standard for Odyssey-class ships which are more often used for diplomatic and command duties closer to the Federation.

Design and Construction (2394-2399)

Following the destruction of Utopia Planitia in 2385, Starfleet's shipbuilding priorities were thrown into disarray, as a substantial number of the Federation's large shipyards had been temporarily diverted to producing evacuation transports for the Romulan relocation effort, at the expense of larger explorers and dedicated science vessels. In the chaos that resulted from the destabilization and reorganization of the Romulan Star Empire just a few years later, Starfleet began prioritizing vessels that could be assigned to defensive duties and which would be used to maintain the integrity of the Federation's borders. In the mid-2390s, though, certain factions within Starfleet's higher echelons were successful in securing resources to plan a return to long-range exploratory missions, especially those that could be carried out by the newly-built Century and Vesta-class starships which represented new standards in automation, efficiency, and independence. While these vessels were especially well-suited for solo missions in the Alpha and Beta quadrants that would eventually be followed up on by science vessels, the Delta Exploration Initiative pushed for expeditions that would be able to support multiple starships for an extended period in an environment without bases or supply depots.

As such, the Arcturus was ordered in 2394 as an experimental variant of the Odyssey-class which would include greater system redundancy and industrial fabrication capabilities to allow it to serve as a long-range base of operations for an expedition to the Delta Quadrant. As a proof of concept, she would embark on a three-month trial mission through the Barzan Wormhole into the Delta Quadrant starting in early 2399 and accompanied by a task group from the Fourth Fleet's Task Force 38. Even before construction had started, then-Fleet Captain Elizabeth Hayden was selected as her commanding officer and of the task group. While many construction sites were considered, the Starfleet Corps of Engineers settled on Epsilon Indi Station, to test the feasibility of building large explorers at Starfleet's smaller construction facilities, using modular assembly protocols with individual sections of the ship brought in from other small bases and then integrated at Epsilon Indi, with the eventual goal of reducing the reliance on large fleet yards such as Utopia Planitia.

Though several other ships of the class had already been built, the process was lengthened by the modifications made to both the internal systems and the exterior hull geometry of the Arcturus for her specialized mission parameters, which resulted in a primary hull that was closer in shape to the older Galaxy-class, the elliptical shape allowing for more quarters with viewports and expanded crew support facilities in the primary hull. The secondary hull was also given a rounder shape to accommodate the extra industrial replicator complexes, ship's stores, and a large recreation deck for the secondary hull crew. While the shield and phaser systems were identical to the base class, an additional set of torpedo launchers was added on either side of the main navigational deflector, to provide the ship with enough additional firepower to discourage hostile forces from engaging her.

The Class-9 warp drive system from the base class was retained, but the power conduits and structure of the core itself were both reinforced and fitted with redundant backups of nearly every component to allow for longer stretches without maintenance. The saucer warp drive system was also enhanced to allow for more than just occasional jaunts away from the stardrive section, with the goal of allowing each section to operate independently for longer periods of time on separate exploratory missions. In addition, the ship's rear structure was adapted to allow for both the primary impulse engines in the ship's interconnecting dorsal and the saucer impulse engines to both be available in all flight modes. Combined with the impulse jets integrated into the ship's warp nacelle pylons, this gave the Arcturus sublight speeds that matched or exceeded any escort-class starship of the same vintage.

The widest deck of the saucer section (given the ship's overall shape, on the Arcturus the primary hull was never referred to as the "chevron") was home to a wide gallery that ran the perimeter of the exterior, from one impulse engine all the way around to the other. On the interior side were art installations, planters, and quiet spaces for nutrition and relaxation. On the exterior side were lounges that had broad windows looking out into space, which led directly to the gallery itself. Based on deck ten of the Galaxy-class, this space was built to give the ship's crew open spaces that would help fight against the natural isolation and claustrophobia that came from long-duration exploratory missions. Amidships was a large lounge forward, which was placed in front of the ship's main promenade, a three-deck open area that included further biological installations, restaurants staffed by holographic beings, and more open space to help the crew cope with long missions away from starbases by providing a large, open space that mimicked a city center.

Construction at Epsilon Indi

Captain Akintoye Okusanya was selected to oversee the design and construction phases for the Arcturus, with the first hull sections beginning construction in early 2395. Construction proceeded without significant issues, and in 2396 then-Commander Michael Lancaster, the Chief of Staff of the Delta Exploration Initiative, began to develop a crew roster and equipment manifest suitable for the Arcturus's stated three-month trial mission as well as the very real possibility that the ship and those accompanying her would find themselves stranded 70,000 light-years from home and need to make their way back via conventional means, should the wormhole's stability fail. Lancaster was eventually promoted to Captain and assigned as Hayden's first officer, alongside Okusanya as Captain of Engineering, and a fourth captain to lead the ship's medical department: Captain Alenis Anjar, M.D., both because of the sheer size of the ship's crew and to ensure that there would be a deep bench of command talent to pull from, should one or more of the ship's senior officers be killed during the course of the mission.

Operational History (2399-Present)

Since her launch in early 2399, the Arcturus has served as a front-line exploratory starship.

Departure from Epsilon Indi

The Arcturus was launched in early 2399 from Epsilon Indi Station. On the eve of the ship's departure to the Barzan system, the Waverider shuttle carrying the ship's first officer and a handful of other officers on their way to join the crew was hijacked by a Starfleet officer who had become disaffected with Starfleet's return towards pre-Mars shipbuilding levels, which he felt put the population of the Federation at the same risk of the thousands who lost their lives during the attack on Utopia Planitia fourteen years prior. Captain Lancaster and his associates were able to defeat his plot to destroy Epsilon Indi station, and the Arcturus continued on schedule to its mission.

Alpha Quadrant War Games

Prior to departure from Guardian Station in the Alpha Quadrant, the Arcturus engaged in a war game scenario with a wing of destroyers from the Andorian Imperial Guard, at the behest of the Delta Exploration Initiative's leader, Vice Admiral Jonathan Knox. The Andorians were selected as their vessels and tactics were believed to approximate what the Kazon in the Delta Quadrant could have achieved with thirty years of growth since the last time Voyager was present; their largely forward-oriented weapons and high maneuverability would be a substantial threat to a large vessel like the Arcturus. Thanks to the actions of the crew of the Apollo, the Arcturus's battle group won the day, leaving the ship ready to depart with a crew in good spirits from a recent win.

Delta Quadrant Katabasis

Proceeding at high warp on a month-long journey from the wormhole towards Ocampa, the Arcturus's first priorities in the Delta Quadrant were to demonstrate their ship's preparedness to operate independently from Starfleet and to document the current conditions in the Delta Quadrant along the 800 light-year corridor connecting the Barzan Wormhole and the area known as the Nacene Reach, to help decided future exploration and diplomatic priorities. During this journey, the Arcturus recovered the wreck of the USS Strickland, a science vessel that had been thrown into the reach due to a warp coil imbalance and which later participated in the stabilization of the Barzan Wormhole.

Ocampan Second Contact

Upon reaching the Ocampa system, the place that Voyager's journey home began, the Arcturus completed a detailed survey and inventory of the remains of the Caretaker's array, finding nearly all of the debris removed entirely from the site, followed by a detailed scan of the Ocampan homeworld. While initially believed to be unihabited, the Ocampa were eventually revealed to be still living in their subterranean city, using tetryon reactors reverse-engineered from the array. This group of Ocampa believed that their survival was dependent on their isolation and they lived as if they were still being supported by the Caretaker, as his technology was now maintaining their way of life without his direct intervention. Contact was also made with splinter factions of the Ocampa, the two so-far known to exist being a militant isolationist faction which used comandeered and enhanced Kazon vessels to aggressively defend a small number of systems near Ocampa (and to respond to incursions on the Ocampan homeworld) and an exploratory faction who wanted to seek out connections with their neighbors. These ideologically-distinct factions were attributed to the societal development that occured in the five Ocampan generations that had been born since Voyager left, as fewer Ocampa were willing to subscribe to orthodoxy following the Caretaker's death.

Anabasis to the Wormhole

With second contact and diplomatic relations achieved between the Federation and Ocampa, the Arcturus left a communications relay in orbit connected to a network being deployed by engineering support ships in their group, which the Ocampa shielded with the same technology that allowed their city to remain hidden, and the Arcturus began her journey back towards the wormhole with data from other successful contacts from her task group to report back and to check the results of automated probes left in her wake. Along the way, the Arcturus rendezvoused with the Apollo, which had suffered engine damage during an encounter with the Kazon. With the much smaller ship attached to the Arcturus via magnetic clamps, Arcturus proceeded through the wormhole back to Barzan II.

Attack on Guardian Station

When the Arcturus emerged, though, Guardian Station was under attack by the Breen. Moments after the Arcturus raised shields and prepared to engage, Admiral Knox's flagship purposefully rammed a Breen dreadnought, vaporizing both ships. The Sovereign-class USS Seleya was burning in space, and the Challenger-class USS Shahid had been destroyed completely. With an investigation underway and a sudden vacuum in leadership in the region, Fleet Captain Hayden was promoted directly to Rear Admiral and ordered to maintain order with a newly-reformulated Task Force 9 along the Breen Border. Captain Lancaster was promoted to the ship's commanding officer and in turn the ship's senior officer of the watch, Commander Song Hyo, was promoted to the substantive rank of captain and position of Executive Officer.

Return to the Delta Quadrant

While Hayden was able to coordinate Starfleet's response to increasing Breen aggression, once more tactically-suitable vessels were brought into the region, Starfleet refocused its attention to using the Arcturus for its intended purpose: long-range exploration, and so the Arcturus was re-deployed to the Delta Quadrant with a new mandate for a five-year mission with the possibility for indefinite renewal.

Notable Crew (Mid-2399)

With a crew of over twice the size of the previous largest starship in the fleet (the Galaxy-class explorer) and an extended-duration mission profile, the Arcturus has more senior officers than most other starships, with a command structure closer to a major starbase than the average explorer. The ship's captain reports to the mission commander. Reporting to him is the executive officer (overseeing bridge officers), to whom the captain of engineering (overseeing the ship's systems), and the captain of science and medicine, who are both officers holding the substantive rank of Captain and who are both recognized experts in their field, report.