U.S.S. Aspasia
In 2395, Vesta-class had been in service for 15 years. After serving as a test bed for many technologies, among which the quantum slipstream FTL propulsion was most notable one, Starfleet decided to commission a second generation of Vesta and her, more specialized, sister classes, Aventine and Rademaker. Two vessels of Vesta-class were commissioned for construction at San Francisco Fleet Yards, with Naval Construction Contracts 82638 and 82653, in the drydocks which neighboured each other. As their construction progressed, several members of Starfleet Corps of Engineers working their quantum slipstream systems nicknamed them “Vesta-class Twins”. The latter vessel was finished and launched in 2397, after being christened as U.S.S. Hypatia [1].
The former was named Aspasia, after a Greek woman who had been a life partner to Pericles, famous law maker in the Ancient Greece. The ship’s construction had been completed in the early 2397, but her launch was postponed after a convoy, carrying a shipment of benamite crystals intended for her quantum slipstream drive (QSD), had been raided by the Orion Syndicate. Upon Starfleet’s successful retrieval of the benamite shipment, U.S.S. Aspasia was launched in the early 2398, under Captain Toras Badrin, Son of the 11th House of Betazed.
From her launch up to the fall of Gornar in 2403, Aspasia was deployed along the patrol routes near the Romulan Neutral Zone, occasionally defusing border skirmishes between various Romulan factions. With the fall of Gornar, Starfleet redeployed Aspasia along the Federation-Klingon border in Hromi Cluster, assigning her as the lead ship of Hromi Task Force. When Klingons initially pushed into Hromi Cluster, thus marking the beginning of the Federation-Klingon War, the Task Force was among the first combatants.
While the initial push back of Klingon invasion force was successful, Starfleet was forced to withdraw and redeploy. Aspasia and her crew, under Captain Badrin, witnessed the end of war and ceasefire, shortly after the Undine invasion of Earth and Qo’nos. With the discovery of the first Dyson Sphere, both Aspasia and Hypatia were sent on the exploration patrols of the vast space structure. But the founding of Dyson Joint Command increased the presence of Alpha and Beta Quadrant powers, allowing Starfleet to focus some of its resources on back into exploration. With Badrin’s promotion to Rear Admiral and transfer to Odyssey-class flagship, U.S.S. Altair, the central chair was passed to a new commanding officer, Captain Joseph Hendricks from Alpha Centauri in 2414.
Aspasia returned to Earth for her first refit which lasted nearly four standard months. Many of technologies designed for younger ship classes, like Odyssey, Regent and Pathfinder were adapted to Aspasia, namely the newest generation of BNG packs, sensor systems and phaser arrays. With refit complete, Aspasia was sent to her new frontier - Beta Quadrant space far beyond Cardassian Union and Zenas Expanse. While many political commentators applauded this as a sign of hope, truth was much more desperate - Aspasia’s primary mission was to assess potential threats of the remaining, renegade Dominion influences, following the New Link and The 2800 crises.
When the Iconian War broke out in 2415, Captain Hendricks was tempted to have his ship turned around back towards Earth and punch her QSD to its maximum. But Starfleet Command orders were grim. Given the developments, neither Starfleet nor Federation had any contigency plan - should Earth fall, Aspasia’s chances of survival were better in the unknown depths of space.
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Class: Registry: |
Vesta Class NCC-82638 |
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Length: Beam: Draft: Mass: |
672 m 192 m 88 m 3 321 630 mt |
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Decks: Crew: Capacity: |
23 750 5000 |
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Avg. Cruise: Max Cruise: Top Speed: |
Warp 7.2 Warp 9.8 Warp 9.997 (for 10 hrs) & QSD-Mk2 |
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Armaments: |
12Ă— Mk XII Phaser Arrays 1Ă— Mk XII Auxiliary Phaser Cannon 4Ă— Variable Geometry Torpedo Launchers (2F/2A) |
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Defenses: |
Primary Covariant Shielding Metaphasic Shielding Duranium/Tritanium Hull Armor Ablative Armor in critical areas (e.g., bridge, nacelle pylons) |
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Auxiliary Craft: |
6Ă— Workbees 4Ă— Type 8 Shuttlecraft 2Ă— Type 9 Shuttlecraft 2Ă— Yellowstone-class Runabouts |
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