USS Ascension
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- "I’ll lift you, and you lift me, and we’ll both ascend together."
- —John Greenleaf Whittier
USS Ascension NCC-10525 is a Ambassador -class Federation starship currently assigned to Fourth Fleet's Task Force 47. As part of the task force's ongoing pathfinding efforts, she currently operates within the Thomar Expanse undertaking goodwill missions with prospective allys and memberworlds.
Service History
Commissioning and First Starfleet Service
Launched in 2335, following the successful deployment of Ambassador, Enterprise-C and Zheng He, Ascension was part of Starfleet's new wave of deployments aimed at maximising the diplomatic capability of its deep space missions. For the first decade of service, Ascension spent much of its time pushing the frontier towards the galactic south, extending the reach of the Federation into the largely unexplored borders near the Tholian Assembly. Though her attempts at improving relations with the xenophobic Tholians did not bear fruit, her name became synonymous with Starfleet's exploratory efforts in the largely unknown region having secured dozens of first contacts and completing countless scientific operations.
In 2345, following the events of the battle at Narendra III, Ascension was recalled to the fleet yards for some minor overhauling, acting as a test bed for a number of technologies intended for the fleet modernization programme. As part of these efforts she recieved additions to her sensor and computer facilities to test intial ventures into modular sensor palettes and configurable laboratories being designed for new wave of ships. With her refits completed, she was dispatched out towards the Cardassian Union for another long duration mission, where Starfleet was becoming increasingly concerned with the growth of the Union. Unfortunately, Ascension's exploratory mission was interrupted by the beginning of the Federation-Cardassian War in 2347 and the ship found itself turned into a border sentinel, undertaking multiple engagements protecting small and under-resourced colonies and outposts as the conflict became more and more of a stalemate between the two polities. When the conflict finally ended into a begrudging peace in 2366, Ascension had spent almost two decades of continuous service at the front lines and to the dissapointment of Starfleet Command a number of prominant crew members opted to resign and join the newly forming Maqui, dissalusioned with the formation of the demilitarized zone.
After finding extensive damage to the superstructure of the ship following the conflict, and combined with the success of the newly launched Galaxy-class ships, Ascension was hastily patched and transferred to the Starfleet Auxillary for service with the Federation's vastly under resourced logistics division in 2370.
Auxillary and Return to Frontline Service
Taking advantage of the ship's large re-configurable internal space and wealth of support systems, Starfleet Auxillary opted to utilise Ascension for long range transports of personnel and supplies to the growing number of outposts moving into their second stage of development. Finding herself once again treading amongst the developing southern region of Federation space, Ascension served with distinction, becoming a favourite of civilians and Starfleet personel alike, who particularly enjoyed her grandeur and creature comforts during their travels out to their next assignment. In 2374, she saw a brief return to mainline service as part of the large scale redeployment of Auxillary assets to support civilian and refugee movements during the Dominion War. Though she was not fully recomissioned into Starfleet proper, her heavy shielding and robust construction gave her a leading role in transport convoys into dangerous regions to support evacuation and relocation efforts.
Following the war, Ascension returned to her general frontier transport duties with the Auxillary and continued to serve for just over a decade, until in 2388 she found herself moved to the long term mothballing as a result of major defects discovered in her hull members after fifty years of hard service. Proving too costly to repair, and considered oversized and outdated alongside the growing number of successful smaller, mission specific designs such as the Intrepid class, Ascension faced the decomissiong panel in 2389. She was only saved from full decomissioning by retired Starfleet Admiral and Ascension's first commanding officer, Annette Sunners, who argued the ship was more useful in the reserves.
Following the events of Frontier Day in 2401 and later the Vaadwaur Invasion, Ascension found itself once again called back into service to bolster the significantly injured Starfleet. With advances in materials science and technology it was found her damage was not as extensive or costly as previously believed and late in the year, she was launched from Utopia Planitia with brand new facilities for diplomatic operations as part of the new Emissary mission designation of ships. Assigned to Task Force 47 and the Thomar Expanse, Ascension returned to its roots in a new setting, developing the promise of intial exploration into the building blocks of a future for all the Federation.
Configuration
The Pavilion
The Pavilion is a multi-format events space prepared to host everything from small discussions to full scale celebrations. With facilities for entertaining and negotiating; including a ballroom, associated kitchen and dining spaces, meeting and conference rooms, direct connections to the VIP quarters and immediate access to the ship's secondary shuttle bay, the Pavilion is the focal point of the ship's diplomatic assets and provides a suitably grand location for hosting events large and small. Spanning much of the forward aspect of decks four and five to take advantage of the ship's impressive forward aspect, the Pavilion is the pride and joy of Ascension's crew.
Built around the Annette Sunners Auditorium, a 500 seat theatre named for the captain who led the ship on its first five year mission, the Pavillion also serves as a hub for rest and relaxation for the crew outside of mission operations. With regular events hosted by the crew, ranging from sewing circles to ceilidhs, the Pavilion is not a dusty backdrop for negotiations but a living example of life in the Federation. In the entrance foyer to the complex is the very history of Ascension itself, with artifacts and momentos from the ship's six decades of service presented for all to witness, and more than one wide eyed ensign has missed the beginning of their duty shift after becoming lost in the living museum of Starfleet's golden era.