USS Valley Forge
- "Character is forged not on the mountaintop but in the valley."
- —Mike Matheny
- "Homo faber est suae fortunate.
Each person is the smith of their own fortune." - —Appius Claudius Caecus (c. 340 – 273 BC) - Senator of Ancient Rome
USS Valley Forge NCC-43305 is an Excelsior II-class Federation starship currently assigned to Fourth Fleet.. She was under the command of Captain Samantha Hyland.
USS Valley Forge was the third to last Excelsior-class spaceframe to undergo the refit and modernization process to upgrade this dependable Starfleet workhorse to be able to support the diplomatic mission of Task Force 72 into the 25th Century and beyond. Nominally deployed to patrol and support duties along the former Cardassian Demilitarized Zone, the operations that the Valley Forge engages in may not be the most glamourous, but her missions are amongst the most vital in supporting the United Federation of Planets during the years that are proving to be some of the most challenging in its entire history.
Named after the famous winter encampment of General George Washington and the Continental Army, during the American War of Independence in 1777 AD; like its namesake the USS Valley Forge has come to typify the values of endurance and perseverance that were focal to the birth of a Nation.
Design & Layout
Bridge - Deck 1
Master Systems Display
The Master Systems Display, or MSD, is located on the bridge, in the rear section of control consoles, directly behind the captain's command chair. This dedicated station allows any officer to get an abstract picture of the ship and any problems that may arise. Its attached console allows certain situations to be dealt with right in front of the MSD without further intervention. This console is usually where a duty engineering officer is stationed, adjacent to the bridge engineering console, during Alert. The MSD generates a constant visual "Damage Report" and is technically part of the bridge engineering console. The MSD generally displays a "cutaway" view of the side of the spacecraft and shows locations of primary and secondary systems.
Tactical Systems
Compared to the original Excelsior - class starship, from which she was upgraded - the USS Valley Forge represented a significant 'up gunning' from its 23rd Century progenitor. In addition to Type-XII phaser arrays - deployed along two large dorsal and two ventral arrays on the saucer section, two dorsal and two arrays on the engineering section, and a further two aft phaser arrays, the Excelsior II Heavy Cruiser complements this loadout with six burst-fire torpedo launchers, four forward and two aft. This ordinance is more than a match for the type of opponents envisioned by Starfleet, that the Valley Forge is likely to encounter during her patrol & peacekeeping duties. The addition of Regenerative - Shielding and sections of ablative armor protecting additional vital areas of her spaceframe - all combine to field a vessel that is more than capable of independent action or to support a Flag Officer as the flagship at the centre of a medium - sized fleet deployment.
Hazard Team "Anvil"
During her time as XO aboard the USS Albion, Captain Hyland came to appreciate the flexibility and utility that ensuring that select members of a ship's crew were trained in Hazardous Situation Response Team operations. Drawn from the USS Valley Forge's standard personnel, these crewmembers take on additional duties of elite training and hazardous missions to deploy to counter extraordinary situations & incidents when they are needed. Despite this combat training and mission profile, Hazard Teams bring a wide range of technical, medical, and scientific skills to any operation, providing more versatility than a simple security team. Led by a relatively Junior Officer, the Hazard Team also have the advantage of training under the supervision of the Starfleet Tactical Training Hologram (TTH).
Mission Update: Sanctus in Machina
In the aftermath of the extra-legal events of The Devil to Pay, Samantha Hyland is promoted to captain and assigned command of the Excelsior II – class USS Valley Forge, in an effort by Starfleet Command to sideline her and place her where she can do less harm, patrolling the former DMZ.
However, in Sanctus in Machina, Sam’s uncanny knack for being in the right place at the wrong time, sees the crew of the ‘VF’ encounter a mysterious ‘ghost-ship’, Hull-3185, lost some 25 years ago during a test – flight for the revolutionary “Stutter Warp” drive technology. What they discover aboard sends a chill up the spine and leaves more questions unanswered than mysteries solved – as the lost vessel truly seems to be inhabited by the specters of its former crew.
A hitherto unexpected malfunction in the Stutterwarp drive not only killed the test – crew but tore a hole in the fabric of space/time and opened a rift to a Mirror Universe, where the USS Artemis (as her former crew had affectionately dubbed their test – ship) has been wandering all of these long years, before it’s unexpected return to the Prime Universe.
In a frantic final pursuit, the mysterious Dr Gallian Makon tears open a subspace rift with Lt Cdr Dai & Lt Isono aboard and Sam Hyland is forced to plunge the USS Valley Forge into the unknown, in a desperate attempt to save her people. What she finds beyond the anomaly will be discovered as they venture Through a Mirror, Crack’d Darkly…
Mission Update: Through a Mirror Crack'd Darkly
In the mirror universe, the USS Valley Forge encounters the ISS Albion and mistaking them as friendlies, comes under attack and Sam is kidnapped by none other than herself! At the hands of the sadistic Terran Empire amalgam of herself – Sam is tortured as the MU Captain Hyland seeks the secrets of Hull-3185 as she desires to escape the Empire.
During interrogation, it was discovered that Sam has a tendril of living crystal growing in her leg, that was implanted by the Crystal Entity on her ascent from Primar Majoris #7, that has been acting as an antenna and that what she assumed were hallucinations of her late father were in reality a powerful subspace psychic link to the great sublimed elder–race traveler. The MU version of Sam uses this crystal lattice to amplify the effects of the Agonizer.
Meanwhile, Deassomi Dai and Taani Isono are delivered into the hands of the New Marquis, and it is revealed that the Cardassian Gul Yomat Ghallir (who in the Prime is the terrorist leader of the True Way), is both lover of Dr Makon and leader of the resistance against the tyranny of the Terran Empire. They are taken to “The Raft” (a floating shanty of interconnected ships of the alien races lucky enough to have survived the Empire’s genocide) hidden deep in the Antaari Nebula and a desperate plan is hatched with Commander Daniel Talland to rescue Sam and infect the Empire with a powerful AI named ‘Chimera’.
In the ensuing battle, the TTH – Master Chief Isagi Saroga, is transmitted aboard the ISS Albion to stage a rescue, even as the battle is interrupted by the incursion of a Tetrahedron from the hegemonic Hive Collective. The MU Hyland abandons her crew to assimilation and beams aboard Hull-3185, followed by Sam and the pair engage in a bloody struggled as the Subspace Anomaly re-forms, and the USS Valley Forge is able to beam Sam aboard as it presses home and the Stutterwarp Drive self – destructs.
Back in the Prime Universe, unbeknownst to all, the Sam that was rescued proves to be the evil MU – version of Captain Hyland – who assumes Sam’s identity and command of the Valley Forge. As for Sam, she awakens aboard the Hive Tet and is forcibly injected with the powerful mutagenic agent that will inevitably assimilate her into part of the Hive Mind.