USS Soval

USS Soval
General Information
Registry	NCC-10528
Class & Type	Ambassador-class Emissary
Affiliation	Starfleet
Status	Active
Commissioned	2356
Assignment
Task Force	Task Force 72
Home Port	Starbase 72
Role	Diplomatic Envoy
Key Personnel
Commanding Officer	Captain Dassee Priax
Executive Officer	Commander Sallaus
Template:Starship

The USS Soval (NCC-10526) is an Ambassador-class emissary assigned to Task Force 72 under the command of veteran Captain Dassee Priax, a joined Trill who is the latest host to the Priax symbiont. Its very presence is evocative of a time when Starfleet was the paragon of peace and stability, the decision to restore this venerable 24th-century icon from the Starfleet Auxiliary press her back into service as a diplomatic envoy and more-than-capable generalist vessel was a deliberate act to evoke those halcyon times of nostalgia amongst the decidedly more tenuous and fraught geo-political landscape of contemporary 25th-century galactic affairs.

Design and Layout

To step aboard an Ambassador-class is to step back in time, although the interior of the venerable rmissary has been modernized with holodecks and holosuite, and the advent of systems automation requires a far smaller crew to operate Soval than in her heyday—the result is that an already spacious ship with generous conferencing and social spaces is made even more opulent and provides the perfect backdrop to create an engaging and welcoming environment in which VIP delegates are put well at ease and in a positive mindset to engage in diplomatic discourse and negotiation.

Interiors aboard Soval are well-appointed and luxurious, especially compared to Starfleet’s current stripped-down approach to interior design. This makes them well-suited to transporting dignitaries in style. Crew quarters are also well-equipped but notably dated.

The bridge aboard Soval is an updated version of the module it was first launched with in the 2360s, which itself is similar to the early model Galaxy-class bridges. Twin helm and operations stations are at the front of the bridge forward of three command seats which are on an elevated platform with a tactical rail wrapping around the back. Science and engineering stations are on either side of the bridge, with a wall of mission-specific stations on the back bulkhead of the bridge.

Mission Operations

With the instability that typifies modern 25th century galactic affairs with the disastrous impacts of the Fall of Mars, Frontier Day, and (more recently) the widespread disruption to the geopolitical fabric of involved races by the sudden advent of the Multicursal Labyrinth and corresponding collapse of the apertures leading to Underspace, the need for Task Force 72 and to shore-up and stay the tide of unrest amongst the races bordering Federation space has never been more urgent.

Commissioned in 2356, Soval was once considered the bleeding edge of early 24th century Starfleet cruisers, and her very presence would indicate the seriousness of the Federation’s intent when an Ambassador arrived in a star system. Those golden days are now far behind the Federation, and Starfleet’s decision to reverse the demilitarization of these faithful old workhorses and revert from their intended retirement with Starfleet Auxiliary has left Soval with a mélange of old and new technology. Isolinear processors work in tandem with first-generation bioneural interfaces, a generous power output courtesy of second-generation semi-toroid warp coils now interfaces with modern EPS distribution and a much-improved communications array all go towards threatening a nervous breakdown for all but the most experienced engineering teams.

While not on an equal footing with contemporary 25th-century cruisers in her class, the Soval has new teeth courtesy of upgraded Type-X phaser arrays and a power output that can keep them firing for as long as it takes to defend herself. Relegated to generalist duties, Soval shows the same doughty endurance that allowed her to survive service in both the Federation Cardassian War and the Dominion War, and goes to prove that the opponent that discounts Soval purely on her age and time-in-service alone may come to regret that assumption.

Soval has been pressed back into service to complement the work of the (too few) Odyssey and Obena-class starships and provide a vital second–tier diplomatic response to a growing spread of unrest threatening the continued security of the United Federation of Planets. She may lack the glamor of newer classes of starships, but none can quite capture the panache and nostalgia that the Soval evokes and uses to her advantage.

Still a more-than-capable as a cruiser, Soval is also deployed on generalist duties, conducting initial astrometric surveys for follow-up, transporting vital humanitarian aid and supplies to communities in need, and providing support to smaller classes of Starfleet vessels in need.

Auxiliary Vessels

Soval utilizes a large complement array of supporting small craft operating from her two shuttlebays, with 15 shuttles of various types and 2 modern Volga-class runabouts named after famous Vulcan diplomats, the Solkar and the V'Lar.

History

Named for one of the first Vulcan ambassadors to Earth, the Soval was one of the last Ambassador-class starships commissioned, leaving the yards in 2356. During her construction, systems for the later Galaxy-class explorer were already maturing, and so Soval left with significant improvements over the base class in terms of engines and computer equipment.  She went on to serve with distinction under a number of captains and has the distinction of seeing active service both in the Federation-Cardassian War of 2347-2370 and the Dominion War of 2373-2375.

But as much as she has witnessed the horrors of war, she has been instrumental in the salve of unification and contributed to reparation and a long period of détente. Eventually, her years of service caught up with her, and the effort to retain her in service was deemed inefficient when newer types of vessels, such as the Norway and Obena were able to fulfill her function with more utility and fewer engineering resources.

In 2400, reflecting a career of dedicated service and a job well done, Soval began the process of demilitarization with the intent to let her serve out her retirement in the Starfleet Auxiliary, living out her final golden years providing logistical utility and support duties. All of this changed in 2401 following the devastating losses suffered by the fleet over Earth during Frontier Day, which saw Soval earn a reprieve and the chance to serve with dignity once more, with a new captain and crew.

Crew of the Soval

Captain Dassee Priax

Captain Dassee Priax is the 6th joining of the Priax Symbiont and Dassee was already a serving Starfleet officer before he assented to the honor of joining with this ancient entity. The result was an entirely new person, pairing elements of both into a starship captain that typifies duty and stability and the multifarious personalities and life experiences that the Symbiont contributes, making Dassee Priax a very intuitive choice to command a vessel dedicated to diplomatic endeavors. Captain Priax presents a paradox—a steadfast ship’s captain and a veritable rogues gallery of internal influences, he is a hard man to pin down but a perfect arbiter of the type of complex diplomacy that takes place aboard Soval.

Commander Sallus

If the appointment of a Starfleet captain bearing the Priax Symbiont to command the Soval was calculated, then the assignment of the Romulan Commander Sallaus can only be viewed as an extension of that stratagem. As a refugee and citizen of the Romulan Free State, Sallaus knows firsthand what it is like to be dispossessed and the subject of prejudice and suspicion. A naturalized Federation citizen, Commander Sallaus embraces her role as Executive Officer aboard Soval, seeing this as an opportunity to change hearts and minds about perceptions of her people, but she sometimes finds her ingrained suspicion hard to shake.

The Soval In Play

• Soval is a Task Force Asset, and any writer in Task Force 72 can feature it in their stories.
• Whilst an older design, the Soval is still a capable generalist cruiser that can lend a range of functions to your mission when called upon and is an ideal asset to summon for assistance and support in your storytelling.
• Soval can be cited as a vessel deployed to support your own command or can be deployed to another location to fulfill a function to support your mission.
• Soval is a martially capable vessel and can be called upon to provide combat support to less powerful Starfleet vessels in distress. While alone, she cannot stand up against superior contemporary 25th vessels of cruiser size and above, she can easily deal with smaller vessels and raiders, and, in combination with supporting vessels, her generous power output can provide a constant and commanding base of fire.