USS Horsehead

USS Horsehead (NCC-60151) is a Nebula-class Federation starship currently assigned to the Fourth Fleet's Task Force 17. Under the command of Captain Jefferson Munro, the Horsehead is a fifty-year-old ship whose upgrades and refits keep her an effective part of Starfleet operations, but has rendered her more of a reliable workhorse, well-resourced and able to undertake intensive missions without undertaking the cutting-edge opportunities of more advanced explorers. Retaining much of her original design, setting foot aboard the Horsehead is like travelling back to Starfleet's most refined and comfortable age of exploration, the pre-Dominion War era, and he Horsehead shares many of the luxurious fittings of her contemporaries, such as the Galaxy-class.

The interiors are distinguished with comfortable living spaces and wide hallways providing plenty of room to move and work in, which suits the Horsehead’s frequent long-term exploration missions. While the Horsehead has been upgraded with integrated holography to provide flexibility in many of the workstations, it retains its charmingly vintage decor. Public spaces still feature original artwork and comfortable seating areas, while workstations are well-lit and designed for ease of access. Quarters and recreation areas are pleasantly large for the size of the ship, which helps ease the stress of extended missions.

The Horsehead's primary duty for Task Force 17 is lower-priority exploration missions. This includes following up on surveys or first contacts after the initial explorer has moved on, conducting in-depth studies or engaging in deeper diplomatic discussions. She also takes the lead on missions alongside smaller ships of the task force, which may run patrol, scouting, or survey operations to support main objectives. To fulfil these missions, the ship carries a large science department who boast a wide variety of specialities.

Crew of the Horsehead

• Captain Jefferson Munro: A human man in his late fifties, Munro was an astrophysicist before he was a captain. Still a researcher at heart, Munro complains endlessly about anything that distracts him from this work, giving him the demeanour of an old, grouchy officer. He is quick, however, to take under his wing any officers he believes share his love of science.
• Commander Elai Forrex: Commander Forrex is the young and capable first officer, and she clearly views the Horsehead as an essential step to her own command. She is quick to push for the exciting opportunity, both to make her work more interesting, and so she can prove herself.

In Play

• The Horsehead is a Task Unit Asset, and any member of Task Force 17 can feature it in their stories.
• She is a powerful and well-rounded ship that is nevertheless inferior to more modern, cutting-edge explorers. The Horsehead can likely undertake any mission profile your story needs; old enough to do routine work, powerful enough to handle problems if necessary.
• The Horsehead works well to 'tidy up' events towards the end of a mission. Capable of major survey or diplomatic work, she makes a good choice if your story leaves behind loose ends a Starfleet ship might have to deal with.
• She can also take a leadership role for smaller ships, which might serve as escort or survey ships while the Horsehead deals with what, on the surface, is the most important research or diplomatic work. This is a good chance for members with smaller ships to tell deep-space exploration stories, where the Horsehead may IC take the lead, but your ship may stumble across what kicks a story off.
• The Horsehead can be used like any other task unit asset, showing up to resupply or deliver officers, or mentioned off-screen by dealing with distant problems or discovering the initial plot hook that your ship is sent to deal with.