USS Constellation
- "We only see starlight because all the stars are bleeding."
- —Steven Hall - Ship's Dedication Quote
USS Constellation is a Constitution III-class explorer assigned to Fourth Fleet Operations. It is currently under the command of Captain Taes. A team of civilian scientists from the Romulan Free State is permanently assigned to support the Constellation’s investigation of scientific mysteries beyond the charted edges of Federation space. Although the crew’s search for knowledge is vital, their paramount mission is to improve diplomatic relations between the United Federation of Planets and the Romulan Free State.
History
Like most among the first wave of the Constitution III-class starships, the USS Constellation was constructed through the upcycling of an older starship's superstructure and essential system components. As long as there's been a Starfleet, there have been Starship Constellations. Almost from the inception of this neo-explorer class of starships, it was decided to build this ship in honour of the Constitution-class USS Constellation (NCC-1017).
After construction on the new Constellation was completed in late 2400, she was commissioned to full service in early 2401. Assigned to Task Force 17, the Constellation was charged with a mission of exploration beyond the Federation's coreward borders into the Typhon Frontier.
Under the command of Captain Taes aboard the USS Sarek in 2400, a team of Romulan Free State civilian scientists were assigned to the science department and their liaison officer, Flavia ir-Llantrisant, was assigned to serve as Taes' chief science officer. Flavia and her Romulan Free State science department were transferred aboard USS Constellation with Captain Taes. Although Flavia was afforded leadership over the Starfleet officers in the science department, she held no position in the operational command of the starship. This was arranged as part of the Fourth Fleet's ongoing efforts to improve diplomatic relations with the Romulan Free State, despite the hold the Tal Shiar has on the very foundation of its government. This was envisioned as one of Starfleet's great experiments to develop friendship through adversity and to encourage the crew to expand their inner depths while exploring the galaxy at large.
Lost Fleet
In early 2401, the launch of USS Constellation was expedited in response to invasion in the Deneb Sector. A massive fleet of Dominion warships swept in from unexplored space, beyond the coreward Alpha Quadrant border of the Deneb Sector. Joined by the Breen Confederacy invading from Deneb’s trailing border, the Dominion incursion took large swaths of Federation territory, including whole planets. Under the protection of Saratoga Squadron, Constellation travelled through the sensor-dampening Ciater Nebula to pass through Dominion-occupied space undetected.
The Constellation crew gathered sensor data from uncrewed observatories and subspace relays beyond Federation space. Upon reaching the Iauna Pulsar, Constellation rescued Doctor Marl Trojet from the escape pod of his destroyed Federation science ship, Sef. Although Doctor Trojet was the unwitting architect of the Dominion’s return in the Alpha Quadrant, he was also that fleet’s first victim. While performing a psychic rescue of the comatose Trojet, Captain Taes learned that Trojet’s experiments to create an artificial wormhole at the Ianua pulsar released a portion of the Dominion’s lost fleet from out of time. The artificial wormhole released the Dominion fleet from the Bajoran wormhole, where they had been held in timeless stasis since they were lost in 2374. Returning to the Deneb Sector with this intel, Constellation was flanked by the Dominion’s final attack on Farpoint Station and took serious damage in defending Starfleet in the Battle of Farpoint.[1]
Notable Crew
Commanding Officers
2401-Present: Captain Taes
Configuration
Main article: Constitution III-class Explorer
Consistent with her class, the Constellation's design aesthetic hews to a return of spartan and utilitarian architecture. Vaulted ceilings, archways and lighting panels from every direction are a common theme throughout every deck of the ship. The floor, bulkhead and overhead panels are predominantly metallic with no upholstery. While the common ships of the class tend toward gun-metal grey, the duranium plating upcycled into the Constellation resulted in a colour scheme that favours brushed copper, reflective bronze and transparent panels throughout the ship's interiors. With the advent of holo-technology and automation, most compartments are sparsely furnished and decorated. Single-use equipment is too inefficient a use of space aboard a starship intended to explore unaided for five years at a stretch. Allowing for the illusion of larger rooms, most compartments are multi-functional, be they operational centres, personal quarters or laboratories, with fewer partitions and sub-divisions than on the comfort-driven explorers of old.
Planetarium
The largest officer and crew lounge aboard Constellation is the Planetarium. True to the design aesthetics of the ship, the lounge is relatively large with simple clean lines and no wall decor taking up space. The only furniture in the compartment includes a serving bar and an assortment of utilitarian tables and chairs. The centrepiece of the compartment is an oversized family-style table that can easily seat twenty people. Unlike most primary starship lounges, the fewer number of viewports aboard a Constitution III-class resulted in the Planetarium being situated with no exterior viewports. Rather, the entire ceiling of the lounge is a permanent holographic projection of the stellar wonders being charted by the Constellation.
Romulan Laboratory
Based on the terms of the Federation's treaties with the Romulan Free State, the Romulan scientists aboard Constellation have an enclave laboratory devoted to their own independent research. The lab possesses a small dedicated computer core and subprocessors, entirely air-gapped from the starship's main computer cores. Under normal operating procedures, the Starfleet crew cannot access the Romulan lab with internal sensors unless authorized by the captain directly or if the computer detects risks such as damage to life support, weapons fire, open flames, or unregistered communications transmissions.
Auxiliary Craft
Constellation's shuttle bays are equipped with a full complement of auxiliary craft, including:
- Captain's Yacht: Decker
- Danube-class runabouts: Estéron
- Orion-class runabouts: Rubenstein and Anser
- Type-14 shuttles, including: Masada, Harpa Georgii, Canis Minor, and Zoma