Endeavour (NX-06)
- "Qui audet adipiscitur"
- —Ship's Dedication Quote
The Endeavour (NX-03) was the sixth NX-class to be launched by the United Earth’s Starfleet. The ship was launched on December 30th, 2155 from the orbital facilities above Earth prior to the start of the Battle of Sol during the Earth-Romulan War. She was named after the space shuttle craft Endeavour. The ship’s motto was in Latin and meant Who dares win.
In late 2156, almost a year since her launch, the ship was later refitted and upgraded to the Columbia-class.
History
Construction
The Endeavour was built at the San Francisco Orbital Complex in Earth orbit. Construction had started by late 2153, at the height of Starfleet realising it needed to deploy the NX-class into the field at a faster rate than originally planned. This was due to the Xindi conflict proving that more was needed to defend Earth and the rest of the Commonwealth.
By the time the yard engineers started on Endeavour, they were well versed in knowing what to do right and what to avoid to prevent technical issues. The whole assembly project was led by Captain Krischnan Demetriou, a Greek Starfleet officer that had trained as a pilot as part of the NX Project. Putting the Endeavour was relatively simple and by the December of 2155, the ship's primary systems were almost at one hundred percent operational efficiency.
2155
Battle of Sol
On December 30th, the Romulan Star Empire launched a daring attack against the Sol system in a bid to deal a crippling blow to Earth's Starfleet. However what the Romulans hadn't anticipated was how quickly a defending force could be assembled by Earth along with the fact that the Earth Global Defence Force had almost two years since the Xindi attack to prepare the system for further incursions. Though Starfleet was victorious, the battle did cost Earth and its allies (Vulcan and Andorian ships arrived at the eleventh hour to secure the system). One of the heavies costs was the damage sustained to Endeavour and the lost the crew endured from those who were killed during the battle.
When orders had been issued for a fleet-wide tactical alert, Captain Demetriou had decided to launch Endeavour ahead of schedule to assist with the fleet being assembled in orbit of Mars. Not wanting to be left in dry-dock he took the gamble to join the Challenger and the others due to the fact that a majority of the ship's systems were operational and ready, even though he was missing half of his crew and two decks did not have life support operating. Joining the fleet, the Endeavour was instrumental in taking out a number of Romulan attack fighters. Taking a brunt of the fight, the ship eventually succumbed to heavy damage. The ship's warp core had to be shutdown before it breached, several explosions in engineering killed a number of crew members including the chief engineer. Furthermore, the ship was bombarded by two Romulan Birds-of-Prey which resulted in the ship receiving massive hull breaches. Challenger was able to drive off the attackers, but Endeavour was left adrift after the bridge was hit hard. This caused several explosions which ended with the bridge being exposed to the vacuum of space, killing Captain Demetriou and his first officer, the only two officers on the bridge.
Shortly after the battle, the ship was salvaged and returned to dry-dock.
2156-2157
Repairs on the ship immediately began after the battle was concluded, with many that had survived requiring medical treatment. Feeling that it was vital for the Commonwealth's interest to get as many ships repaired and sent out, Fleet Admiral Hathaway (the Starfleet Commander-in-Chief) briefed a number of Starfleet captains and senior officers on a plan that would see this through. One of them was prioritising officers that could receive battlefield promotions to fill in any missing gaps within the fleet's command structure. Hathaway decided that Demetriou's successor needed to be someone who was battle-tested and was use to the NX-class level of technology, her choice was Commander Oliver Campbell, the first officer and chief helm officer of the starship Poseidon (NP-01). Promoted to captain, Campbell was given a simple instruction: to assemble a new crew and get the ship launched within a fortnight. Completing both tasks with some ease, the ship was relaunched and sent out as part of the task force to reinforce Starfleet forces at Deneva.
The Romulans had attempted to destroy Deneva a few months prior but their attempts failed, however they were persistent with their efforts and launched another offensive. Their target had been the many mining facilities on Deneva's asteroid belt; it was believed they were attempting to stop the resources that were being excavated from reaching the rest of the Commonwealth as Starfleet used them to construct its fighting force. The Second Battle of Deneva, was once again, a victory for Earth but Endeavour along with every other vessel that survived the battle endured a high amount of casualties. This did not bode well for the crew's morale. Once the system had been secured, the ship had been sent to receive further repairs and new crew from Starbase 1.
Reaching the newly built station in orbit of Berengaria VII, Endeavour was repaired and given its new set of orders: to establish diplomatic ties with the Democratic Union of Kreetassa. It was the hope of the Earth government that this would lead to an alliance being signed, possibly bringing the Kreetassans into the Coalition of Planets and the war effort. Hosting Deputy Defence Secretary Lucca Whelan, the crew travelled to Kreetassa and upon arrival found the Kreetassan military in mid-battle with the Romulans. Aiding the Kreetassans against their mutual enemy, the Endeavour was successful in driving off the remaining Romulan forces. Their actions of coming to the aide of the Kreetassans assisted hugely in the crew's efforts to form a favourable diplomatic approach. Talks between both sides started off well and Captain Campbell would go on to develop a good relationship with Chancellor Manazol, the head of state and government for the Kreetassan government. Thanks to this, as well as other diplomatic overtures made by Campbell the crew were successful in not only formalising a relationship but having the Kreetassan government sign an alliance treaty. Chancellor Manazol and his governing body saw the threat the Romulans posed and pledged to join Earth in its struggle to fight the Romulans. Though the Kreetassan fleet was heavily damaged from the attack, where they could assist the Kreetassan military would support their Human allies. This mission was a huge morale boast for the crew, with Campbell and others receiving several recommendations for their efforts.