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Boldly going
Captain's Log - stardate 59782
Following three months of upgrades, installations
and crew replacements, we are finally ready for our maiden voyage. This
will be an historic occasion as we will be the first Starfleet vessel to be
officially ordered to set a course beyond our galaxy. I am proud to take
command of the Vesta class USS Pharaoh, and feel
a sense of familiarity with her due to the continuation of the name.
She is equipped with an uprated and fully
functional Quantum Slipstream Drive, Phase Cannons, a greatly enhanced warp
drive system, four impulse engines for improved maneuverability, a chroniton integrator, a multidimensional wave-function
analysis module, a long-range fermion
transceiver, and an extensive shuttle complement, including two new
Atlantic class runabouts. In every way she is one of the most advanced
vessels in Starfleet.
The Quantum Slipstream Drive has taken a while to
perfect, but it allows Starfleet to open up a new era in exploration. It
uses a narrowly-focused, directed warp field which is initiated by
manipulating the fabric of the space-time continuum at the quantum level.
It works by focusing a quantum field through a deflector dish to generate
massive changes in local space curvature. This creates a subspace tunnel,
which is projected in front of the vessel. Once a ship has entered this
tunnel, the forces inside propel it at incredible speeds. In order to
maintain the slipstream, a ship must constantly modify the quantum field
with its quantum field focus controller in front of the deflector dish. The
new Vesta class starships are designed to
withstand the immense pressures involved, and Starfleet are now working on
installing this technology on other ships.
Below are dorsal and lateral views of the Vesta
class starship.
The Pharaoh is also equipped with 10 banks of the new sustained-fire phasers, four torpedo launchers and improved deflector
shield technology. She has 23 decks, a detachable multi-level bridge
module, and enhanced warp engines which enable her to maintain warp 9.9985
for more than 16 hours at a time. Her displacement is 2,321,630 metric tonnes, and she is 672
meters long.
This is a deck-by-deck view taken from our Master Systems Display located
on the main bridge:
To run this stunning new starship, I will require newly-trained Starfleet
officers who are familiar with this enhanced technology, but I also need
experienced personnel. I have appointed newly promoted Lieutenant Commander
Martin Ballan as my new First Officer, and now
have a full crew complement of 745, including many of the crew who served
with me on the Intrepid class Pharaoh.
Final pre-launch checks have commenced.
We launch in two hours
Mission 1 - "Beyond the Seventh Hill"
Stardate: 59784.
Following a
successful launch, we took the Pharaoh out on her maiden flight. With her
four new impulse engine units, the Pharaoh can perform extremely tight
maneuvers, and run rings around many vessels a quarter her size. She is
also capable of impulse speeds over a far greater range than previous ships,
while simultaneously using less power.
After a day of
testing the new impulse engines, the Pharaoh engaged the Quantum Slipstream Drive on a heading of 047 mark 22. At warp 9.99 it takes 22 hours to cross one
sector. Using the Quantum Slipstream Drive it takes less than 12 minutes.
Starfleet's orders
were to take the Pharaoh to the outer limits of the Milky Way galaxy, far
beyond the boundaries of Federation space, where a signal had been detected
from outside of our galaxy. The Quantum Slipstream Drive worked perfectly,
and we arrived at a small planetary system named Omega Tau. This was
completely unexplored territory at the very edge of our galaxy, enabling us
to continue Starfleet's main purpose - exploration.
We traced the
signal to the only planet in this system - an L-class planet in orbit
around a red giant star. Sensors detected the remains of a very ancient
city, but no life forms. I ordered an away team to beam down immediately.
This is the scene that awaited them:
Tricorder analysis revealed much
advanced technology, some of which was still emanating fluctuating power
readings. One of the buildings housed a transmitter which was the source of
the signal we received. It turned out however, that the transmitter was
simply an amplifier, and we confirmed that the signal had come from outside
of the Milky Way galaxy.
It was also evident
that there was a huge complex deep under the water of the nearby lake. The
away team took an Atlantic class runabout below the depths and discovered a
whole city below the surface. Upon further exploration, a huge weapon of
mass destruction, almost 90% complete, was discovered in a huge cavern. It
was clear that an attack on the complex had taken place, and there was much
damage. It was estimated that, if complete and working, the weapon could
easily disintegrate a small planet or moon. The reactor for the weapon was
still fully charged.
I ordered the away
team to destroy the power supply and render the weapon inactive. They
returned to the city on the surface, and continued their exploration of the
streets and buildings. There were still no signs of life other than the
vegetation.
After nearly a
further day and a half within the city, it was discovered that this was the
home of the Cravic, a race which we formerly
believed inhabited the Delta Quadrant. They were all presumed destroyed by
their own robots, but it appears that some survived and fled to this world.
Unfortunately their enemy the Pralor caught up with them, and finished them
off, but it appears that they were aware of this event, and were trying to
prepare for a massive war between the two races.
The puzzle is not
complete however, as there is no sign of either the Cravic or the Pralor,
and there is still the matter of the signal coming from outside of our
galaxy. The mystery deepens
.
Mission 2 - "Brave New Worlds"
(Details
to follow.)
Mission 3 - "The Cave Minders"
(Details
to follow.)
Mission 4 - "Paradox"
(Details
to follow.)
Mission 5 - "Timeshift"
(Details
to follow.)
Here is an account of the final moments of
the previous ship named Pharaoh.
Mission 52: The Final Mission
As soon as we were
back aboard the Pharaoh I received a Code 47 message from Starfleet
Command. It appears that the Borg have decided to invade the Alpha
Quadrant, and this time they have sent 7000 ships with the sole intention
of destroying the Federation, the Klingon Empire
and the Romulans.
I was told that the only defence against them at
this time was our advanced transphasic torpedoes.
Only a few Starfleet vessels were equipped with these weapons, of which the
Pharaoh was one.
We were immediately asked to proceed at maximum warp to the Epsilon Bootis system. Upon arrival we were instantly attacked
by two Borg cubes. It also became apparent very quickly that two other
cubes were devastating the surface of Epsilon Bootis
3, so I ordered the Pharaoh to intercept those two cubes.
We suffered heavy damage, and things took a turn for the worse as three
more cubes joined the four already present. We engaged and destroyed three
of the cubes using our transphasic torpedoes, but
had suffered severe damage and nearly 100 casualties already. The remaining
four cubes came at us all at once with weapons firing.
I only had one choice to save Epsilon Bootis 3
.
I ordered the self-destruct system to initiate in sixty seconds. The
remaining crew were ordered to abandon ship.
A few of us got away in ASRVs, but only a handful survived. The resulting
explosion completely destroyed the four cubes, and saved millions of lives
on the planets surface, but
...
the Pharaoh was gone. This time forever.
Three days later we were picked up by the USS Aventine, and returned to
Earth for a complete debriefing. Of the 223 crew of the Pharaoh, only 79
survived.
Over the next few weeks we tried to come to terms with what had occurred.
Apparently the Aventine had played a major role in
freeing the galaxy of the Borg threat.
At last, the Borg were gone. This
time forever.
Starfleet decorated the surviving crew of the Pharaoh, and myself and five other officers received an extra
commendation for gallantry in the line of service. Touching, yes, but
nothing could alter the fact that many of our fellow crew, and friends,
were lost.
On stardate 59817 Starfleet offered me command of
the newly commissioned Vesta class USS Tiberius.
I accepted, and a new chapter in my life in Starfleet began.
Of the 79 surviving crew of the Pharaoh, 12 retired from Starfleet, but the
rest joined me on my new ship. Its a state-of-the-art ship, with a crew of
750 and a number of items of brand new technology, including uprated warp engines and quantum slipstream drive. This
has now been perfected by Federation science, and the Vesta
class are the first ships to have this new form of
propulsion installed.
The Federation can now begin to recover from this devastating attack which
left 63 billion people dead (across the Federation and the Klingon and Romulan Empires).
Starfleet lost 40% of its forces, and a number of major Federation worlds
were destroyed. Theres a lot of work to do to recover, but we all have the
drive and determination to succeed.
Once this recovery is complete, we will be able to resume our number one
directive - to seek out new life and new civilisations
.to
boldly go where no-one has gone before
21st century account:
Following recent events in the brilliant Star Trek
Destiny books, Captain David Burton decided to take the group in a new
direction. The Intrepid class Pharaoh has gone. That group is now closed,
and a new group has started. All Intrepid class Pharaoh-related material
will no longer be accessible other than this front page. The portal and
Beta Shift are now closed.
Captain Burton received a message from Starfleet H.Q. Office of the
Admiralty granting special dispensation from the Chief of Starfleet
Operations to change the name of the new Vesta
class USS Tiberius to USS Pharaoh. The new group will feature a completely
new look, with a brand new class of starship, but with a faithful old name.
The Vesta class USS Pharaoh NCC 82909, Eastbourne's Star Trek group,
is about to enter its 14th year, and is alive and flourishing, with
many new exciting adventures awaiting. If you wish
to join them, contact the Captain on captaindavidburton@gmail.com.
Lets see
whats out there
..
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