USS Achilles (NCC-28410)

USS Achilles
General Information
Registry	NCC-28410
Class & Type	Ambassador-class Cruiser
Affiliation	Starfleet
Status	Active
Commissioned	2343
Decommissioned	2370
Assignment
Task Force	Fourth Fleet Expeditionary Group
Role	Deep Space Exploration
Key Personnel
Commanding Officer	Captain Thalek th'Zorati
Executive Officer	Commander Natasha Usmanov
Template:Starship

The third of five starships to bear the illustrious name, the USS Achilles NCC-28410 (Ambassador-class) is perhaps one of the most famous.

In the golden era of exploration, at a time when the Federation was advancing their borders and meeting many a new civilisation, one of Starfleet's newest ships was originally commanded by Starfleet’s first Trill commander, Captain Italia Ruas. Achilles was one of Starfleet’s most advanced vessels and flew the flag for the United Federation of Planets on countless missions across the Alpha Quadrant following the noble sacrifice of Captain Rachel Garrett and the crew of the USS Enterprise-C at Narendra III. As tensions with the Klingon Empire thawed, the focus of diplomatic initiatives turned to the increasingly hostile Cardassian Union.

A diplomatic incident on the Cardassian border saw patrols amped up on both sides of the trenches. With some of the finest Cardassian warships arriving to represent the Union, Starfleet dispatched a four-ship task group to fly the Federation flag, led by Achilles, to ensure diplomatic envoys summoned to a summit on Setlik III arrived safely. As talks threatened to devolve, a last-ditch effort to keep the peace by the crew of the Achilles succeeded for a while, but only for a while.

Conflict seemed inevitable, and it wasn't long until Achilles became embroiled in the tumultuous Cardassian Border War. Decades of tension came to a head in the 2360's when a truce was finally established, bringing an end to the hostilities, and Captain Ruas' time in command. Her time in command would be remembered for no less than six first contacts, dozens of trade agreements and the discovery of some fifteen new star systems beyond the Federation border (some of which later joined the Federation as members).

Command of the Achilles later passed to an Andorian, Captain Thalek th'Zorati, who oversaw the ship's final years in service until she was eventually decommissioned in 2370 in favour of a brand new Akira-class heavy cruiser, the USS Achilles NCC-77024.