USS Century
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- "Time is the wisest counselor of all."
- —Pericles - Ship's Dedication Quote
USS Century (NCC-94004) is a Constitution III-class Federation starship currently assigned to Fourth Fleet. Commissioned in 2399 with a name that evokes a sense of legacy and a forward-thinking vision, Century is the beginning of a new lineage, part of the first production run of the brand new Constitution III-class of starship.
Over the short period of time she has been in service, Century has already endured great loss, but has seen wonderful success, too. Whether apprehending criminals stealing freighters for their supplies in the Thomar Expanse or defending the Federation against implacable enemies in the Vulcan System, Century has been on the leading edge of some of history’s most recent and defining events. With a new crew at the helm, Century returns to the Expanse as a diplomatic vanguard, exploring uncharted frontiers and encountering exciting scientific phenomena.
Design and Layout
- Main Article: Century Deck Listing
As with the rest of her stablemates, Century resembles Starfleet's return to the San Francisco School of design, with a focus on clean lines, fewer windows and no carpets. Constructed from the dying embers of two significantly older starships, she is an amalgamation of tried and tested components teamed with new, innovative technologies and significant advances in automation. Constructed at Avalon Fleet Yards like most of her class, she is built with a clear focus on her exploration and diplomatic capabilities, but is more than capable of defending herself and the Federation, thanks to her deceptively powerful armaments and high-powered defence systems.
Bridge
A reflection of the time period she was created, the polished steel and cool metal fixtures of the bridge aesthetics bring back memories of years gone by, her design blending modern technological advancements with the nostalgia of eras long gone. It is a functional, yet aesthetically pleasing facility designed in a similar vein to the rest of the ship. Her greatest feature is a wide-angled window which fills the forward bulkhead. This window has holographic projectors built into the rim, giving it the ability to function as a more traditional viewscreen. It can also be used as an emergency evacuation hatch, with force fields being lowered until replaced by a large, external bulkhead.
Dominating the heart of the command center, three leather command chairs sit atop the central platform, colloquially known as the 'Command Deck', surrounded by rails and steps to the lower levels of the bridge. As is tradition, the center seat and its controls are reserved for the commanding officer, or any directly appointed officer in command during their absence. To their right, the executive officer and, to their left, a third seat is generally reserved for the use of the ship's Counsellor, Chief Medical Officer or any official or dignitary the Captain sees fit. All three of the chairs have built-in controls on the armrests, enabling the occupying officers to conduct their duties with unprecedented access to a wide variety of ship systems.
At the foot of the stairs, directly ahead (or to the side) of the command deck, the 'Flight Deck' consists of two angled consoles serving as duty stations for operations (port) and flight operations (starboard). A few feet from each, two stand-alone consoles provide auxiliary station access for any purpose required (such as communications, environmental control, mission operations etc). Ascending the stairs on either side of the command deck, the port side bulkhead is home to three large stations dedicated to tactical operations, providing access to the ship's defensive and offensive systems, whilst the starboard bulkhead is dedicated to the various science departments on the ship.
Aft of the bridge, there are two additional consoles behind the command area designated for medical use (port) and engineering (starboard), allowing the engineer on duty access to the same engineering systems as in main engineering itself, including access to environmental controls, propulsion systems and the warp core. Central to the aft bulkhead, open access is granted to the observation lounge, which is sealable by emergency bulkheads and forcefields.
The Chrono Band
Originally fabricated by a member of the construction team in reference to the time it took to finalise many of the ship’s internal configurations, the Chrono Band is a slim, old-style metallic watchband - minus the actual watch itself. With a faint Starfleet delta etched on one brushed duranium link and the inscription "Hold the Moment." on another, the band now serves as a superstitious yet important piece of Century heritage and belongs to whoever sits upon the seat of power. Usually worn on one’s wrist, belt loop or clipped to the uniform of whoever is in command, Bridge lore claims that removing the Chrono Band from the command center during active duty hours will have serious repercussions, with some even claiming time itself would be broken with its removal, resulting in spatial anomalies, unending bad luck or even a sudden surge of temporal interference. In reality, the band has left the bridge countless times before and was once even misplaced in the mess hall replicator queue, but it mysteriously finds its way home eventually.
Observation Lounge
A beautifully designed room, the observation lounge matches the aesthetic of the rest of the ship, with polished alloys and cool metals as the material of choice during construction. The room is dominated by a large table with holographic controls, which is particularly useful for briefings and has seating for up to 10 officers. The Captain traditionally sits closest to the wall-mounted display on the starboard bulkhead. There are several shelves with ornaments and models of previous ships the commanding officer has served on. An additional door provides access from the port bulkhead.
The observation lounge operates an open-door policy and, in the absence of a more traditional ready room attached to the bridge, the Captain often uses the observation lounge as a workspace so that they do not have to return to their quarters.
Continuum Café
Symbolising the ship's role in the space-time continuum, the Continuum Café is perhaps the most spacious of all recreational facilities aboard Century, an elegant facility built across two levels. With dozens of seating areas across both levels, with varying degrees of comfort and privacy, the lounge is a constant hive of activity for anyone and everyone aboard the ship. People come to work in a relaxed, but active environment, or they may come to sit and read while people mill about and conduct their business. Food is obtained from several replicators around the room, while bar snacks and beverages are available at the bar, manned around the clock. The room's most exquisite feature is that of a shimmering spiral of transparent holo-panels suspended from the ceiling and in constant rotation, to echo the continuity of time itself. Each panel displays imagery associated with key moments in Federation history or cultural milestones across the member worlds of crewmates serving aboard ship.
Auxiliary Craft
Three bays across the primary and secondary hulls house some of the most advanced auxiliary craft available to Starfleet vessels. Auxiliary craft aboard Century were replaced at the behest of the new commander following the ship's participation in the defence of Vulcan. All have names that fit with the same temporal theme associated with the rest of the ship.
Shuttlebay 1 - Main Shuttlebay
Shuttlebay 1, or the Upper Shuttlebay, has been modified to house all of the auxiliary craft that make up The Mnemosyne Pact, auxiliary craft named after the Titaness of memory. These auxiliary craft are made up of some of the most advanced small vessel designs ever to serve Starfleet.
Janus, Mnemosyne, Morai, Ouroboros, Saturn, Yaldabaoth
Equinox, Meridian
Shuttlebay 2 - Runabout Landing Bay
Shuttlebay 2 is the smallest of the auxiliary craft facilities on Century and is the permanent home of four runabouts. Due to their size, these vessels cannot be shifted between bays using elevators, so they stay permanently docked in the lower shuttlebay.
Aeon, Chronos, Kairos, Parallax
Shuttlebay 3 - Fighter Hangar Deck
Shuttlebay 3 is on par with the main shuttlebay when it comes to size and is the home of the Temporal Phantoms, the Valkyrie-class Starfighter space superiority squadron assigned to Century after the Vaadwaur assault on the Federation. Consisting of eight starfighters divided into two flights, DAWN and DUSK, consisting of eight pilots, four landing signal officers (LSOs) and fourteen maintenance engineers.
History
2401
- The USS Century, while on patrol along the Federation/Romulan Republic border, intercepts messages and sensor readings that indicate the presence of a Borg vessel of unknown configuration and purpose in their patrol area. Under the Century's surveillance, the Borg vessel raids a derelict relay station, harvesting a small assortment of seemingly random items before departing the area. After leaving the relay station behind, the Scout craft enters Romulan Republic space, arriving at a well-hidden Romulan installation within a star system just outside of the Velorum Nebula. Given their location in a contested region of Romulan space, Century begins monitoring the situation via long-range sensors, unable to assist as the Scout begins an immediate and merciless assault on the installation and its defenders. Unable to intervene, Century concludes its surveillance mission as the Borg craft moves deeper into the contested region, and out of sensor range.[1]
- While patrolling the Romulan border, Century intercepts a transmission from a mining colony not far from Gateway Station. Century alters course and, upon arrival, an away team is sent to the surface, discovering intelligence that suggests several cargo transports have gone missing carrying Chimerium, a very rare mineral. This mineral, aside from its scarcity, has unique properties that make it very intriguing to scientists. Armed with this new information, Century heads for the last known coordinates of the transports. During a planet-by-planet search, an away team lands in a large cavern, discovering a makeshift camp of scavengers dismantling the transports. Further investigation leads the crew to conduct a sting operation against a vessel of unknown origin. Following a short confrontation, Century disables the ship and apprehends the crew. With their investigation complete, Century departs the system and escorts her prisoners to Gateway Station for processing.[2]
- A short time later, Century receives orders to depart for the Thomar Expanse.[3]
- During their first deep space exploration mission, the crew encounters a low-band radio frequency just strong enough to overcome the background radio signals common in deep space, resulting in the discovery of an early civilisation. After several hours of observation at the outer edge of the system, the crew learns a startling truth: the civilisation that once existed had developed nuclear technology and, unfortunately, caused an extinction-level event. Armed with this new information, Century's crew begins the cataloguing and archiving of what remained in an effort to preserve the civilisation's remains. Matters grew complicated several days later when radio transmissions from the surface begin to emerge from the ruins of the radioactive wastelands that had once been cities. With the civilisation seemingly still alive, the Captain orders all efforts to be suspended to avoid violating the Prime Directive. Unable to help the planet's inhabitants, Century and her crew depart the system. [4]
2402
- USS Century returns to Vulcan for refit and repair following a year conducting deep space operations. With many of the crew having departed, the ship operates with a skeleton crew; a skeleton crew that takes some time to discover communication issues, meaning they cannot communicate with anyone beyond the system. Vulcan soon falls victim to a surprise assault by vessels belonging to the Vaadwaur Supremacy, their appearance sudden and their motives unclear. Century is ordered to lead Starfleet's response to the incursion and engages the Vaadwaur alongside eight other starships, including the Pulsar. During the assault, Century is boarded, and several key locations are heavily damaged. Many of the crew are injured in the attack, but security forces are able to repel the attackers.
- Following the Vaadwaur's retreat back into Underspace, the Century crew rushes to conduct repairs, including the installation of a new bridge module. Less than a week later, the discovery of a Blackout Outpost results in Century being pressed into service once more to lead a combined task force into Underspace in an attempt to destroy the station. In the ensuing battle, many lives are lost, but the mission is a success, and the Outpost is destroyed, destabilising the corridor. The combined Starfleet and Vulcan forces successfully return to Federation space, with Century having sustained significant damage. Century docks at the 40 Eridani A Construction Yards for a complete overhaul and crew replacement. [5]