USS Republic
- "Nothing beautiful without struggle."
- —Plato, The Republic
USS Republic (NCC-91371) is one of the newest Constitution III-class starships constructed for Starfleet and assigned to the Fourth Fleet's Task Force 47. A product of the Avalon Fleet Yards, she features the latest in technological innovations and systems that have been incorporated into modern starship designs. With a focus on exploration and independence, Republic is destined for Thomar Expanse and the unexplored space beyond.
Design and Layout
For the article, see Republic Deck Listing.Like other Constitution III-class starships that have been built, Republic has been constructed with a mixture of new and old materials and components as Starfleet engineers make an attempt to bridge the fundamental paradox of the Ship of Theseus problem. As two of the previous starships Republic were museum ships, only artefacts of these vessels have been incorporated into ceremonial components of the ship while the last starship Republic was able to donate a majority of raw materials for the construction of her legacy-bearer.
An internal deck plate from the United Earth Starfleet Republic has been incorporated into the decking in main engineering just in front of the warp core. Similarly the Sombre-class Republic donated a deck plate found on the modern namesake's bridge command platform. The Ambassador-class Republic was scrapped after sitting in mothballs for nearly three decades and broken down for raw materials to construct the Republic. Her age and antiquated technology in comparison with modern equipment meant that no surviving systems could be carried across to the new vessel and in fact, a vast majority of her structure had to be reprocessed and cast anew before being integrated during construction.
In honour of her forebearers, Republic is coated in a slightly lighter shade of hull paint, causing her to stand out amongst her contemporaries.
Bridge
Harkening back to the design aesthetics of the mid to late 23rd century, Starfleet's golden age of exploration, the Constitution III-class starships intentionally attempt to invoke the spirit of that era, while blending in the traditions and innovations of the modern era. The bridge, the command centre of the ship, is designed to communicate this feeling and intention in a single unified package by being visually impressive and functional at the same time.
With three central chairs set upon the elevated command platform, harkening to mid-24th century designs such as the venerable Galaxy-class, the intention is to present a unified front, especially helpful when dealing with hostile powers. This is in contrast to the 22nd-century designs of a singular command chair at the heart of the bridge. The chair to the commanding officer's right is reserved for the executive officer while the chair to the left is used by visitors to the bridge or mission specialist as required.
Seated in the commanding officer's chair facing the expansive viewscreen, one finds the helm officer seated to the front right and operations to the front left. Science is located to the right of the bridge with Tactical to the left. Communications, distinct from Operations, is situated to the rear-left of the commanding officer. This leaves the station to the rear-right available for mission advisors or monitoring of small craft and away teams when Tactical is otherwise engaged.
The Agora
The Agora is Republic's largest social space, offering a different vibe and feel compared to the other utilitarian messes spread throughout the ship's hull. It fills the need for a large leisure space that can host crew gatherings but as required be reconfigured for more formal or diplomatic functions too. Featuring a mixture of booths, large tables, standing tables and bar seating, there is a variety of options for all depending on the nature of their social gathering in the shared space.
The Pnyx
The Pnyx is the officer's mess located on Deck 03. Reserved for the exclusive use of the ship's senior officers and their guests, it is designed with a warm, comforting feel appropriate for small gatherings. Wood furnishing with intentionally chosen retro design elements are meant to invoke a sense of ease and relaxation amongst the denizens of Pnyx. Seating is generous with seats found at the bar, in a central common space and a handful of tables along the outer walls.
Auxilliary Craft
Type-14 shuttles
Republic carries a total of 10 Type-14 shuttles in her small craft complement. With only a flight crew of two required, these spacious shuttles can reasonably conduct long-duration and long-distance missions on their own. However, increasing the passenger count aboard greatly reduces the craft's endurance, mainly due to crew comfort considerations.
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Delta-class runabouts
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Valkyrie-class starfighters
Six of Republic's standard shuttle complement have been removed and replaced with Valkyrie-class starfighters. While these are tactical small craft, the decision was made to bring these craft aboard ship to provide increased tactical capability in the Thomar Expanse due to tensions between the Breen Confederacy and Cardassian Union. The Night Witches, as the flight is known, consist of six permanently-assigned pilots, augmented by Republic's own flight officers when required. The squadron pilots also serve as flight officers and shuttle crew alternatively as required.
Republic carries two variants of Valkyrie-starfighters aboard, the A and A/R model. The A model, or attack model, is the standard variant found predominantly in service. The A/R, or attack/recon model, is a specialised variant that is lacking in micro-torpedo magazines, carrying only two at launch, one per launcher. Magazine space is given over to housing more specialised and sophisticated sensors and ECM hardware. These sensors are incredibly sensitive and capable in a very narrow observational window forward of the craft, allowing for superior long-range reconnaissance of known targets, but are incredibly poor at generalised scouting.
Equally the ECM hardware, while incredibly capable, has a limited field of effect and was ideally designed to cover the craft it is fitted on only. Skilled or reckless pilots are able to make use of the field to hide a few other fighters in close proximity, but exposure would put an entire flight at risk and is highly discouraged.
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History
Launch
Namesake & Lineage
There have been two other Federation starships to bear the name Republic as well as one United Earth Starfleet vessel:
- Republic - NCC-208 - Daedalus-class
- USS Republic - NCC-1371 - Sombre-class light cruiser
- USS Republic - NCC-26633 - Ambassador-class heavy cruiser
Notable Crew
For the article, see Republic Full Roster.