USS Mercy

USS Odyssey
General Information
Registry	NX/NCC-80000
Class & Type	Odyssey-class
Affiliation	Starfleet, United Federation of Planets
Status	Active
Commissioned	2387
Assignment
Task Force	[[17]]
Role	Deep Space Explorer
Key Personnel
Commanding Officer	Captain James Preston McCallister
Executive Officer	Commander Max Duncan
Template:Starship

[[Category:17]]

"We shall not cease from exploration // And the end of all our exploring // Will be to arrive where we started // And know the place for the first time."

    —T.S. Elliot - Ship's Dedication Quote

The USS Odyssey (NCC-80000), is an Odyssey-class Federation starship and was the prototype for the class. The Odyssey is a deep space explorer and is known for many of its exploits in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants. Commanded by Captain James Preston McCallister, the ship is one of Starfleet’s most advanced vessels operating in the fleet in 2399. The crew is one of the most diverse too, something that McCallister carried on from his previous command (Luna-Class USS Triton). A bulk of the crew are made up from the Triton and the previous ship named Odyssey. The ship was launched in 2387 with McCallister as its captain. The ship’s motto is based on the poem by T. S. Eliot named Little Gidding.

Design and Layout

Being the prototype for the Odyssey-class, the ship itself was the testbed and main blueprint for later ships. Over the years the crew have made changes as the ship has either been upgraded/refitted or the change is required for mission purposes. The phrase 'floating starbase' has been used on more than one occasion by various crew members.

One thing that Captain McCallister pushed on shortly before he took command was the need for the ship to be extremely safe for families to be on board. He had become a father himself and as such, he and his wife enjoyed the luxurious VIP style quarters that built for their family. This itself has grown as his three sons have got older, needing their own private rooms within their family quarters. This has become a similar custom with others and their own growing families. As such, the huge room on the ship has allowed for this to take place.

Being a platform that can host a number of smaller ships, the Odyssey proved itself very early on its shakedown cruise as an excellent long range explorer. Sadly though her deep space exploration assignments in the Alpha & Beta Quadrant from 2387 to 2399 were limited to less than a year. Each time McCallister ever challenged Starfleet over this, they would continue to state concerns about having the Odyssey so far away from the Federation border. That said her ability to host a range of diplomatic functions gave her the ship and crew a fair and favourable reputation among Federation worlds and allies. After the destruction of the homeworld of the Romulan Star Empire, Odyssey was assigned to the Romulan Neutral Zone as refugees flooded the area. The ship was one of the few Starfleet ships around to support those who were fleeing from the former empire. The ship's ability to support many people and engage in multiple missions was commended by Starfleet and those they saved.

When Starfleet eventually decided to assign the Odyssey to a proper deep space exploration assignment in the Delta Quadrant, she was ordered to Starbase Bravo to receive critical upgrade to her tactical systems. Starfleet were not prepared to take any chances with these. A bulk of these new systems were based on those installed on the USS Arcturus.

The Auditorium

The main area that the crew have come to enjoy the most is the main crew lounge area, located in the forward section of decks eleven and twelve. Nicknamed The Auditorium, due to its huge size and spanning more than two decks high, it is where almost everyone on the ship goes for a meal in between shifts. It can host over two hundred people seated, but it is not a crammed location during its busiest hours. As the flow in and out of The Auditorium is constant, it is rare that a seat cannot be found.

Entrance to the lounge is via the six large doors. Four are located on the main (bottom) level, one in each corner while the other two are on the upper level. Access to the upper level can be achieved via the two entrances closest to the large bay windows on deck eleven or patrons could walk up a wide flight of stairs that exist in the middle of the room down to the main level.

The main level (located on deck twelve) is laid out in an almost rectangular shape, with the longest sides running from the large bay windows located in the forward section of the lounge. On the main level is a range of comfortable chairs located around squared-shaped tables that are set up so four people can sit at. In the centre of the main level is a slightly lowered level (again rectangular in shape) which has raised glass banisters along its two longest sides.  Sometimes during evening entertainment the furniture located here can be removed and holographic staging can be activated to allow for the entertainment to take place or it can be turned into a dance floor. It is not just chairs and tables located on the main floor. A long bar sits in front of the far wall, which can sit ten people, with two replicators on either end. During the day at every meal time a huge buffet is laid out of cooked meals by the ship's impressive galley staff in front of the bar. Most nights there are themed menu choices along with a range of entertainment. Above the bar is a massive holographic wall monitor. This is normally used to show the latest news feeds and the ship’s daily agenda/schedule, but again in the evening it changes to help with the entertainment being provided.

On the upper level, again more tables and chairs are located and on the starboard side is an almost VIP section which is one of the captain’s private dining rooms. Here a larger circular table is located, where the captain can host guests and the senior staff if he wishes to do so within close proximity of the action taking place in The Auditorium. Besides the captain’s VIP area, the upper level is almost the most sought-after area in the lounge due to the fact of the breathtaking views that can be seen from the curved bay windows.

The Auditorium is seen over by its lounge manager Remi Goldman. Remi is a Human man in his late fifties that agreed to join the Odyssey after Captain McCallister offered him the spot after visiting his own bar during his tenure as an instructor at Starfleet Academy in the 2380s. Remi’s mannerism is straight to the point, he hates the idea of replicated food or drink being served in the lounge and always has the chef create fresh food from scratch. He is rumoured to have a huge stash of a range of alcoholics stored in a secure cargo bay as well. On some occasions, Remi is known to cook and would do this on a themed evening, live in front of everyone in The Auditorium. Not keen on depending on holographic entertainers or servers, Remi employs flesh and blood staff members and encourages a good number of the crew who can help with entertainment to be involved. This can include singing and playing instruments or hosting a games evening. His wife Clara, who is one of the civilian teachers, is known to help out some nights when she is not at home with their two teenage daughters and teenage son. Clara is a keen musician herself and when is helping out in the lounge she can be found playing on the large grand piano on the main floor, a majority of her music is soulful or jazz based. On occasions, when she is encouraged to do so, she will also sing. Clara can be joined on stage by Remi where he plays his saxophone. Their son, Duke, is a keen guitar player and once a year since 2397, has held a Battle of the Bands competition for the younger members of the Odyssey crew.  Being a family man, Remi ensures that The Auditorium has a family friendly feel to it at all times, unless there’s a particular themed evening of entertainment where it is only suitable for adults, but these nights are rare.

Besides the other places on the ship's recreation/promenade deck for the crew to enjoy on their off time, The Auditorium has become a popular communal place for everyone.

Other Crew Lounges/Mess Halls

Some of the crew lounges that were in the ring section of the saucer section on deck twelve, are named after various locations that appear in the epic poem based on the ship’s namesake.

The Lion Gate

The Lion Gate is one of the small crew lounges named after the main entrance to the Ancient Greek citadel of Mycenae. It is one of the smaller lounges, dedicated for the sole use of the senior staff. It has two almost oval shaped tables that could fit four people around them, a pair of replicators at either end of the room and three curved settees to lounge in while looking out of the ship through the seven large bay windows. A small bar area is located on the left hand side of the lounge as you enter, just tucked away in the corner. There are not many pictures on the wall, besides a few paintings of the Odyssey.

Captain McCallister had set up a dartboard on one of the walls along with several other games that could be used by anyone. On several occasions the senior staff would meet in The Lion Gate for a poker night or at the end of a busy mission for a nightcap. Holographic stewards could be activated to help ensure the senior staff had a smooth evening.

Support Ship

USS Aquarius (NCC-80000/1)

Again another prototype, the Aquarius, which was the specially designed support ship built for the Odyssey proved itself on numerous occasions during the ship's first decade of service. A majority of the time the ship was commanded by the First Officer or Second Officer if it wasn't the captain. The Aquarius, more commonly referred to as the Aqua by the crew, was almost lost in 2387 when it crash landed on a moon. If it hadn't been for its strong hull design and the Odyssey's ability to repair it there and then, the ship would most likely have been destroyed.

Smaller Support Craft

Captain McCallister named each shuttle and runabout. A majority of the shuttles are named after famous British astronauts or aero-engineers. Others names are named for famous British military barracks and bases.

• Personal Shuttles:
  • Type 8: Farrimond, Llewellyn, Peake, Sellers & Varvill
  • Type 9: Boyd, Cleaver, Dommett, Parkinson & Wheeler
  • Type 11: Boyle, Brooks, Hempsell, Holmes, Longhurst, Mace, Mackay, Sharman & Shuttleworth,
  • Type 12: Ariel, Beagle, Defford, Falstaff, Jodrell, Orba, Spadeadam & Woomera
• Cargo Shuttles:
  • Type 17: Lasham & Oakhanger
  • Type 20: Massey
• Runabouts
  • Arrow-class: Arsenal & Chelsea
  • Volga-class: Kensington
  • Delta-class: Invicta

History

2386-2399

The first decade of the Odyssey's service to the Federation saw the ship engage in a vast range of missions that tested almost every system (and the crew) to show off the ship's true potential. A bulk of this took place in the Beta Quadrant as the ship was seen as carrying the flag for Starfleet along the borders of the Romulan and Klingon Empire. In 2389, it returned home to Earth for a minor refit and the NX in its registry was dropped as more ships of the class began construction.

A majority of the crew have remained on board the ship. Captain McCallister has reported on numerous occasions that he feels this is down to the strong sense of community and family the crew have built over time. He also commented on the fact that as Odyssey is such a dream ship to be a part of, it is rare for anyone want to transfer off. New recruits were rare by 2399, with a majority of the crew working their way up through their ranks with time.

2399+

At the start of 2399, the ship responded to the distress call from the USS Holt. The Holt's appearance, so near to the Odyssey had become a mystery to the crew as the ship had been assigned to patrol the Gorn Hegemony border while they were on the far side of the border with the Romulan Free State. Eventually the crew discovered that the Holt's arrival, and later destruction, had been the result of natural soliton waves. A memorial for the loss of the Holt was carried out on the ship, especially as its commanding officer was the Odyssey's first executive officer.

Later on Starfleet ordered Captain McCallister to report to Starbase 90 with the Odyssey to begin its deep space exploration of the Delta Quadrant. On its way, the ship was ordered to join elements from the fourth fleet in defending the Archanis Sector after numerous raids by the Hunters of D'Ghor. After receiving key components to assemble a brand new sensor array along the border with the Klingon Empire, Odyssey was badly crippled after a rogue Klingon Bird of Prey and a Vor'cha-class attack cruiser engaged them in battle in the Hay'dorian system. The B'rel-class was easily dealt with, however the latter ship rammed the Odyssey. Significant damage was sustained to the craft and it wasn't until the arrival of the USS Discovery, USS Shackleton and USS Endeavour, that the system was eventually secured and repairs to the Odyssey could start. Unfortunately Captain McCallister, Commanders Cambil and Reyas were injured during the battle, command was given to Commander Duncan temporarily during this mission. The crew would go on, along with help from the crew of the Endeavour, to track down and remove the threat posed by D'Ghor hunters that had fled from the first battle.

Eventually the ship joined the rest of Task Force 17's Lead Expeditionary Force that was heading out to the Delta Quadrant. After several weeks at high warp and the use of the Turei's underspace, the ship arrived at the almost edge of the Gradin Belt, close to where the USS Voyager had left the quadrant. It's first mission was to provide further assistance to the Uxali civilisation. This race had been on the edge of almost extinction after years of antimatter radiation had poisoned their homeworld. Due to the fact the main reason behind this was to do with the Friendship 1 probe (which had been launched by the United Earth Space Probe Agency) landing on their world and offering Earth's plans for warp travel, the Uxali almost destroyed themselves. Voyager had helped them by clearing up their air and providing treatment to the people for the radiation poisoning. It was now down to the Odyssey to provide further assistance in rebuilding their world and smoothing out relationships. All in all, the Odyssey crew did complete their mission but the whole affair lasted for almost a month and the end result was the complete relocation of the Uxali people to a new world that would give them the fresh start they truly needed. Odyssey helped them in setting up their settlements, building infrastructure and laying the ground work to ensure the Uxali people survived on their new planet. Their efforts paid off and the Uxali leadership signed a pledge with Captain McCallister to explore further development in formalising a relationship between their people and the Federation.

Shortly after this mission, the Odyssey encountered the Omega molecule in area known as the Delta Hedalos Sector. This came about after the ship responding to a distress call from a ship belonging to the Kraylor. This particular ship was heavily damaged and its crew severely injured. Further investigation carried out by Captain McCallister revealed the location of omega molecules. The Kraylor were in the process of synthesising more molecules in a bold attempt to use its power to finally liberate their homeworld from the Annari Empire. Following the directive, Captain McCallister led a successful solo mission in removing the threat of Omega with none of his crew being made aware of the dangers that the substance brought to the galaxy. Sadly though the USS Aquarius, the Odyssey's support craft was destroyed during the captain's mission. Also, due to the stress of the secrecy and the lies created by the captain (and members of the senior staff) to keep the Kraylor from ever finding out they were involved in destroying their work and research surrounding omega, Commander Cambil resigned from Starfleet. She felt she could no longer serve in the organisation under such circumstances. Ahead of its next mission, Captain McCallister was unable to promote his wife to be Cambil's successor (due to Starfleet believing neither of them could be objective in their roles) so instead he made the next available officer his new right-hand. Commander Max Duncan was made the first officer just as the ship was about to begin exploring a nearby cluster of stars in the Delta Hedalos Sector.

Crew

Command Staff

• Commanding Officer:
  • Captain James Preston McCallister (Human Male) (2386-2388)
  • Commander Zachary Hawkins (Human Male) (2388-2389) (Acting Commanding Officer)
  • Captain James Preston McCallister (Human Male) (2389-2399)
  • Commander Max Duncan (Human Male) (2399) (Acting Commanding Officer)
  • Captain James Preston McCallister (Human Male) (2399+)
• Executive Officer:
  • Commander Zachary Hawkins (Human Male) (2386-2391)
  • Commander Cambil Bexa (Bajoran Female) (2391-2399)
  • Commander Max Duncan (Human Male) (2399+)
• Second Executive Officer:
  • Commander Cambil Bexa (Bajoran Female) (2386-2391)
  • Commander Karyn Reyas (El-Aurian Female) (2391+)
• Third Executive Officer
  • Lieutenant Commander/Commander Karyn Reyas (El-Aurian Female) (2386-2391)
  • Lieutenant Commander/Commander Max Duncan (Human Male) (2391-2399)
  • Commander Tremt Hunsen (Betazoid Male) (2399+)

Senior Staff/Department Heads

• Chief Diplomatic Officer & Contact Specialist:
  • Lieutenant/Lieutenant Commander/Commander Max Duncan (Human Male) (2386-2399)
  • Lieutenant Craigen Flemen (Lumerian Male) (2399+)
• Chief Flight Control Officer:
  • Lieutenant Tremt Hunsen (Betazoid Male) (2386-2388)
  • Lieutenant Junior Grade/Lieutenant/Lieutenant Commander T'Rani (Vulcan Female) (2388+)
• Chief Strategic Operations Officer:
  • Lieutenant Tomaz (Barzan Male) (2399+)
• Chief Science Officer:
  • Commander Karyn Reyas (El-Aurian Female) (2386+)
• Chief Medical Officer:
  • Lieutenant/Lieutenant Commander/Commander Slyvexs (Denobulan Female) (2386+)
• Chief Counsellor:
  • Lieutenant/Lieutenant Commander/Commander Max Duncan (Human Male) (2386-2399)
  • Lieutenant Samris (Romulan Male) (2399+)
• Chief Engineer:
  • Lieutenant Commander Mett dar Lek (Tellarite Male) (2386-2388)
  • Lieutenant Judak (Antaran Female) (2388-2389) (Acting Chief Engineer)
  • Lieutenant Commander/Commander Tremt Hunsen (Betazoid Male) (2389+)
• Chief Operations Officer:
  • Lieutenant Ky'Limonagutrei (Efrosian Female) (2386-2391)
  • Lieutenant/Lieutenant Commander Lukiz Jen (Joined Trill Male) (2391+)
• Chief Security & Tactical Officer:
  • Commander Cambil Bexa (Bajoran Female) (2386-2391)
  • Lieutenant Commander Cline Lenjir (Tiburon Male) (2391+)

Other Crew

Command Department

• Chief of the Boat / Captain's Yeoman:
  • Petty Officer 1st Class/Chief Petty Officer/Senior Chief Petty Officer Tobias Court (Human Male) (2386+)

Diplomatic Department

• Assistant Chief Diplomatic Officer & Contact Specialist:
  • Lieutenant Junior Grade/Lieutenant Craigen Flemen (Lumerian Male) (2396-2399)

Flight Control Department

• Assistant Chief Flight Control Officer:
  • Lieutenant Junior Grade T'Rani (Vulcan Female) (2386-2388)

Strategic Operations Department

• Assistant Chief Strategic Operations Officer:
  • Lieutenant Junior Grade Shaquia Twnai (Haliian Female) (2399+)

Science Department

• Assistant Chief Science Officer & Chief:
  • Lieutenant Abbej (Boslic Female) (2389+)
• Chief Astrometric Officer:
  • Lieutenant Junior Grade/Lieutenant Naef Oran (Brikarian Male) (2386+)

Medical Department

• Assistant Chief Medical Officer:
  • Lieutenant Junior Grade/Lieutenant Remi Forbes (Human Male) (2386+)

Counselling Department

• Assistant Chief Counsellor:
  • Lieutenant Samris (Romulan Male) (2398-2399)

Engineering Department

• Assistant Chief Engineer:
  • Lieutenant Tierra (Deltan Female) (2389+)

Operations Department

• Assistant Chief Operations Officer:
  • Ensign/Lieutenant Junior Grade/Lieutenant Decter Jines (Rutian Male) (2386+)

Security & Tactical Department

• Assistant Chief Security & Tactical Officer:
  • Lieutenant Cline Lenjir (Tiburon Male) (2386-2391)
  • Lieutenant Junior Grade/Lieutenant Keli (Coridianite Female) (2391+)
• Security & Tactical Officer:
  • Ensign/Lieutenant Junior Grade Jisaraa (Orion Female) (2395+)

Civilian Members

• McCallister-Reyas family members:
  • Theodore McCallister-Reyas (Son of Captain McCallister & Commander Reyas)
  • Alfie McCallister-Reyas (Son of Captain McCallister & Commander Reyas)
  • Henri McCallister-Reyas (Son of Captain McCallister & Commander Reyas)