USS Discovery (NCC-71021)

This ship has been our home, it's kept us together, its part of our family.
Sharon Tyson, 2375
The USS Discovery (NCC-71021) was a 24th century Federation Galaxy-class Starship operated by Starfleet. The vessel became famous after completing a seven year (2370-2377) mission in the Gamma Quadrant, the first successful exploration of that quadrant by the Federation. Discovery was destroyed during the Battle of Altamid IV in 2378.
== History ==
=== Construction and launch ===
Discovery was built at Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards orbiting Mars in the Sol System. The construction was a massive undertaking, involving thousands of people across disciplines. Construction was supervised by Commander Mark Callaghan. Dr. Leah Brahams was responsible for much of Discovery's warp propulsion system design.
The ship's port nacelle tube was the site of a multiple murder while she was still under construction at Utopia Planitia. A member of the construction team, became jealous when he discovered his lover was having an affair. He killed the two officers, Marsha and Adam, then hid Marsha's body in a bulkhead and disposed of Adam's in the plasma stream, leaving a telepathic imprint on the same bulkhead that was not discovered until 2377.
On Stardate 43989.5, in the year 2366, Discovery was launched from Mars. On Stardate 44027.4, Discovery was commissioned.       
Final systems completion and shakedown was conducted at Earth Station McKinley. Captain Sharon Tyson took command of the ship on Stardate 44148 at the order of Rear Admiral Norah Satie.
=== Early years ===
In 2367, at Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards, Captain Tyson boarded Discovery for the first time while in drydock. Vice Admiral Wallace greeted Tyson as she came aboard. After a tour of the ship, Discovery departed drydock for a trial run. However, Discovery was the only ship in range capable of responding to a distress call from two Cardassian ships. The ships had been trapped in an energy distortion. Discovery was only able to rescue 57 Cardassian crewmembers before both ships were destroyed. The medical staff treated the surviving Cardassians, including Sahara, future Cardassian spy.
Discovery itself became ensnared in the distortion when she maneuvered into transported range. One crewman devised a plan to fire a photon torpedo in order to simulate a antimatter explosion and free Discovery. Tyson went to the torpedo bay to make necessary modifications as Discovery's engineering hull was struck by an energy trendrill. Discovery escaped with minor casualties and a hull breach on along sections 30 through 38 on decks 23 through 25.
In 2368, while patrolling the Neutral Zone, Discovery responded to an attack on three Federation outposts and was victorious against a Romulan warbird.
=== The Gamma Quadrant ===
In 2370, after undergoing a refit, arrived at Deep Space 9 for new crewmembers. The Maquis ship Redoubt, commanded by disgruntled former Starfleet officer Matt Sullivan, had disappeared through the wormhole into the Gamma Quadrant to avoid being captured. Discovery was subsequently assigned to locate and capture the missing vessel.
After offloading all nonessential personnel, Discovery proceeded through the wormhole to the Idran system where it discovered the missing Maquis vessel. However, both ships soon came under attack by Jem'Hadar attack ships. One Jem'Hadar boarded Discovery's bridge and informed the crew that the Dominion would not tolerate intrusion into their territory by coming through the wormhole and beams back to his ship.
Several crewmembers were killed during the Jem'Hadar's attack, including the first officer, Commander Hugh Hudson; the helmsmen, Kayla Pollard; the chief engineer, John Gregory; and the transporter chief, R.A. Collins. The Redoubt was unable to withstand the attack and the Maquis crew beamed aboard Discovery before the Redoubt exploded.
Two crewmembers, Karen Detmer and Alex Thacker, were abducted and taken prisoners by the Jem'Hadar. Realizing the perilous state of their situation, Tyson and Sullivan decided to put aside their differences in order to locate their missing crew. Both were eventually rescued.
Realizing the Dominion was a serious threat, Discovery attempted to return to the Alpha Quadrant to warn the Federation, but was stopped by the Prophets, who informed Tyson to stay in the Gamma Quadrant and investigate this new threat. This left Discovery to remain and explore the Gamma Quadrant. After the destruction of the Redoubt during the battle with the Jem'Hadar, the Starfleet and Maquis crew were forced to merge for their journey.
=== Beginnings in the Gamma Quadrant ===
Being in the Gamma Quadrant, Discovery officially lost contact with Starfleet. After the Redoubt was destroyed in the battle against the Jem'Hadar, its entire surviving crew transferred to Discovery for their journey. Several key positions aboard the vessel, left vacant by heavy casualties, were filled by the new Maquis crew. Sullivan became Discovery's first officer, Detmer became the new chief engineer after acting chief, Owen Larson's death.
==== Conflict with the Jem'Hadar ====
Discovery's greatest threat came in the form of the Jem'Hadar, the military arm of the Dominion. After entering the Gamma Quadrant, Discovery came under attack by Jem'Hadar ships. A representative of the Dominion boarded the ship and informed the crew that the Dominion would not tolerate "intrusions" into its territory and intrusions were defined as any vessel that entered the Gamma Quadrant. After the attack, Discovery was now on the front line of a new interstellar conflict.
To make matters worse, several former Maquis such as Sahara didn't agree with following Starfleet principles and directives, believing them to be not worth making an enemy out of the Dominion and thus endangering their mission. In an elaborate deception that involve secretly providing information to the Dominion, Sahara defected to the Jem'Hadar. Much to the surprise of her former Maquis crew-mates, Doctor Thacker discovered that she was in fact a Cardassian spy, surgically altered. After fleeing the ship and joining the Jem'Hadar, Sahara immediately began to reassert her Cardassian physiology and began supplying the Dominion with information on the Alpha Quadrant. Sahara even helped the Dominion forge an alliance with the Cardassian Union.
Armed with Sahara's knowledge of the ship, the Jem'Hadar made numerous attacks on Discovery and her crew. At one point during the Dominion war, they attacked the ship four times in two weeks. Discovery suffered heavy damage from the attacks by the Jem'Hadar and many of the crew killed.
After studying the Dominion's technology, Captain Tyson launched a crash program to upgrade and expand the ship's tactical systems, adding stronger shields, more powerful phasers, and a large battery of photon torpedoes. These upgraded weapons helped to combat the Dominion. Discovery was even able to stop a Dominion fleet from invading the Alpha Quadrant by firing a sonic pulse from the deflector dish that disabled the Dominion ships. During the Dominion War, Discovery also returned to the Alpha Quadrant to participate in battles.
== Journey of Discovery ==
Throughout its voyage in the Gamma Quadrant, Discovery came in contact with different cultures, including the Dosi, the Karemma, the Skrreeans, the Hunters, the Tosk, the Rakhari, the Wadi, and the Paradans.
In 2371, Discovery visited Karemma in an effort to locate the Founders of the Dominion.
In 2372, Discovery received a distress call from Deep Space 9, which was under attack from a massive Klingon assault. Discovery rushed through the Bajoran wormhole in time to assist DS9 and other Starfleet reinforcements with repelling the Klingon attack.
In 2372, Discovery learned Doran sisters, L'Tora and Kalanna in search the Sword of Kahless. The sisters had come to the Gamma Quadrant, hoping to beat Toral of the House of Duras to the sword. With the sword, the sisters intended to take over the Klingon Empire. Discovery intercepted the sisters' Bird-of-Prey, the Konoth, near a remote planet where the sword was held. However, Kor, Worf and Jadzia Dax had already discovered and retrieved the sword. The sword was later jettisoned into space, thwarting another attempt by both houses to conquer the Empire.
Later in 2372, Discovery was attacked by two Bird-of-Prey starships under the command of Ferengi Boknor Grom. The surprise attack allowed Grom and his men to successfully hijack the Discovery. Forcing its crew to transport to the surface of Kurill Prime to be turned over to the Dominion, Grom had planned to sell the Discovery to the Dominion, however, his plans were thwarted by Captain Tyson and Commander Sullivan. 
In 2373, Discovery detected a strange reading, an area of total darkness, devoid of space, matter, and energy. Like a hole in space. Tyson ordered a probe be launched into the void. However as soon as it entered the void, it disappeared. Tyson ordered another probe be launched. The second probe also vanishes, more quickly than the last. Ensign Thacker tells Tyson that he can determine the boundaries of the anomaly based on where the two probes disappeared and suggest he can bring the ship closer. Tyson agrees and orders Thacker to bring the ship closer using thrusters only. Suddenly, the blackness expands and envelopes the Discovery.
T'Shara tries to scan the surrounding area, but there is absolutely nothing to see. Tyson orders Thacker to set a course out of the void, back the way they came. However, no matter how fast or how far they go, they cannot leave. Suddenly, a Jem'Hadar battlecruiser approaches and attacks them. Discovery returns fire with a single torpedo, destroying the attacking ship. Tyson laments that the battle was too easy and T'Shara can detect no debris. Another ship approaches sensor. This time it is the destroyed USS Enterprise-D, much to the crew's surprise.
They hail the vessel, but no response. Sensors also detect no life signs. Tyson agrees to send a minimal away team to investigate. Sullivan and Terol beam over only to find corridor after corridor. They find the ship makes no structural sense. When they finally find the bridge, it is two decks lower than where it should be. When the walk through a door, they find themselves right back where they started. Sullivan and Terol beam back to the ship. After several attempts, they finally manage to break free of the void.
In 2375, following the end of the Dominion War, Discovery could continue exploring the Gamma Quadrant without interference by the Dominion. Scientist from across the Alpha Quadrant would come aboard Discovery. Over the two years, Discovery would participate in scientific explorations, planetary research and analysis, and search for new Federation colony sites. Discovery would also assist in the development of the new Solarian observatory.
=== Time travel ===
In 2371, Tyson and crew traveled back in time to 1944 during World War II in an attempt to stop Darvin Decker from foiling the Allies' Normandy invasion and changing the course of the war and history. During which a German spy learned the crew's true origin and tried to steal their technology. The crew managed to stop both the spy and Decker before any notable damage was made.
In 2374, Discovery traveled in time to 2268 through a time rift, in an attempt to stop a changeling agent from destroying the USS Enterprise and changing the timeline. Tyson worked with James T. Kirk to stop the changeling without any notable damage. Commander T'Shara found a way to recreate the time rift and return Discovery and its crew their own time.
In late 2375, Discovery was trapped in a temporal causality loop near the Expanse. Each cycle ended in a catastrophic collision with the USS Bradbury, destroying the Discovery. Feelings of deja vu allowed the Discovery crew to gather clues which allowed them to send a message into the next loop and avoid the collision. The ship spent a total of 18.7 days repeating the same interval of time.
=== The Dominion ===
The Dominion was the major interstellar state in the Gamma Quaduant. Discovery learned of the Dominion after entering the Quaduant. The Dominion did not tollerate the Discovery violating it's so called territory and sent the Jem'Hadar and Vorta to destroy the ship and its crew. Despite the Dominion's threats, Tyson continued her exploration of the Gamma Quaduant.
In addition to the threat of the Jem'Hadar, the Dominion posed another, more sinister threat, infiltration by Changelings, the Founders of the Dominion. Because these beings could assume any form and avoid detection by almost all normal sensors, the potential damage from espionage and sabotage was enormous. The Discovery crew launched several methods that tried to combat this threat, including phaser sweeps and blood screenings.
Discovery also return to the alpha quadrant where it served as the lead ship of a Galaxy-wing squadron and participated in battles such as the First Battle of Chin'toka and the Battle of Cardassia.
=== The Borg ===
In late 2375, the Discovery crew have learned the Borg have begun and an invasion of the Gamma Quadrant after investigating the destruction of the Bajoran colony on New Bajor. Discovery was later intercepted by a Borg cube. A skirmish ensues, in which the cube makes an eventually successful attempt to trap Discovery in a tractor beam. Discovery eventually breaks free using multiple phaser hits with random frequencies. Pursued by the Borg, Discovery hides in sensor-blinding nebula, to which the cube does not follow.
Later that year, Discovery encountered a Borg sphere near the Omarion Nebula. After a brief battle, Discovery destroyed the sphere. Unbeknownst to the crew, several Borg drones transported aboard Discovery before their ship exploded. The began to assimilate the ship beginning with Deck 36, converting the corridors into a Borg configuration, complete with regeneration alcoves and assimilation chambers. Tyson immediately order the crew to evacuate to the saucer section. She then ordered T'Shara to lock out the main computer with a fractal encryption code to prevent the Borg from fully seizing control of the ship.
The Borg established their collective in main engineering and cut primary power to all other decks. They swiftly overran defense checkpoints setup by the crew on decks 26 through 14. Tyson ordered the crew and their families to evacuate to the nearby planet. Realizing the fight was a lost cause, Tyson activated the ship's auto-destruct sequence. In one last attempt, Tyson and T'Shara made their way to main engineering. After being able to turn one of the Borg, Second of Twelve, to their side, the drone rupture on of the plasma coolant, liquefying the rest of the Borg.
Later that year, the Discovery crew learned the Borg were after the Dominion's technology. To prevent this, the Discovery traveled to the Dominion's homeworld and, with the assistance of Odo, were able to convince the Dominion to work with them to defeat the Borg. Starfleet also agreed to send ships to assist, hoping this would help strengthen relations with the Dominion. Discovery served as the command ship in Tyson's armada. As the Jem'Hadar and Tyson's fleet battled the Borg, Terol discovered a weakness in their ship. Tyson told all ships to concentrate their fire on that section, destroying the Borg ship. Before the Borg cube was destroyed, it launched another vessel, a Borg sphere that heads off into space.
=== Contact with Starfleet ===
==== Missions ====
Discovery's first contact with Starfleet following its entry into the Gamma Quaduant came when the crew responded to distress call from Jake Sisko following the capture of his father, Commander Benjamin Sisko. Discovery arrived to find the USS Odyssey and two runabouts, Tyson briefed Odyssey's captain on the Jem'Hadar. Just than, three Jem'Hadar attack ships intercepted the Federation vessels. After retrieving Sisko, Starfleet attempted to with withdraw. During the battle, the Odyssey was destroyed when a Jem'Hadar ship rammed it's main deflector. While the rest of the Starfleet ships withdrew back through the wormhole, Discovery remained in the Gamma Quaduant.
In 2372, Discovery responded to an urgent call from Captain Ronald Anderson, an old friend of Captain Tyson. Anderson's ship, the USS Columbia, sister ship to Discovery, had been plagued by a series of system failures due to an Iconian software transmission. Anderson explained he was investigating rumors of an Iconian outpost in the Gamma Quadrant and had in fact located the outpost on Vandros IV. Before Anderson could explain further, the Columbia exploded due to a failure in the antimatter containment chamber, killing all aboard.  
After the destruction of the Columbia, Discovery and a rogue Jem'Hadar ship both traveled to Vandros IV to locate the Iconian base. While enroute to the planet, both ships experienced the same system failures that plagued Columbia, having downloaded Columbia's logs, which contained the Iconian virus. On Vandros, Tyson had the base destroyed to prevent Iconian technology from falling into the hands of the Dominion. After consulting with Chief O'Brien from DS9, the crew was also able to clear the Iconian virus from the Discovery's computers.
==== Project Relay ====
With the threat of the Dominion, Starfleet felt it was best to have direct contact with Discovery. In late 2370, Starfleet began Project Relay, a division of Starfleet with the goal of establishing contact with Discovery. The team was lead by Major Kira and overseen by Captain Sisko. Discovery was able to maintain contact with Starfleet throught the wormhole, sending reports to Deep Space 9.
However, when the Dominion War began, contact was lost, Starfleet would even believe Discovery was destroyed. It wasn't until the war ended that contact was re-established for the duration of the vessel's journey. Starfleet was able establish transmissions and eventually two-way live visual communication with Discovery.
==== The Exeter ====
In 2373, Discovery​ responded to a Federation distress call from the starship USS Exeter, commanded by Captain Ralph Emmson. The vessel was on a survey mission in the Gamma Quadrant when the war began. The Exeter was severely damaged from attacks by the Jem'Hadar and most of its crew were either dead or injured. The Discovery crew provided medical aid to the crew and assisted in repairs. As repairs were underway when a Jem'Hadar sqaudron attacked.  The Discovery tried to provide cover for the damaged Exeter, but to no avail. Captain Emmson managed to beam a few surviving crewmembers to Discovery​, but the first officer and a few others were killed. After the crew were evacuated, the Exeter was destroyed killing Emmson. With the Exeter destroyed, the surviving crewmembers now served as crewmen aboard Discovery.
=== The return home ===
In 2377, Near the Omarion Nebula, Discovery encountered Borg sphere 274, the same sphere launched from the Borg cube. Sphere 274 locked onto Discovery with its tractor beam, draining the ship's shields. Discovery struggled to severe the beam, ultimately breaking free after three phaser attacks. The sphere continued to attack Discovery, firing beams and projectile weaponry. The sphere was finally destroyed after an way team detonated an explosive devise inside it.
By the end of the battle, Discovery had sustained heavy damage. Deck 36 had been compressed after a beam damaged the engineering hull. The saucer suffered damage to its impulse drive and decks 18 through 20 had been breached. Due to the extent of the damage, Discovery finally returned to the Alpha Quadrant after seven years, arriving at Deep Space 9.
Arriving on Earth, the Discovery crew received a celebratory welcome from Starfleet command. Commander Sullivan and other Maquis crew chose to remain in Starfleet. Discovery underwent repairs and a full refit at Earth Station McKinley, which lasted five to six weeks. Several systems were upgraded and a new warp core was installed.
In 2378, Discovery would serve a diplomatic role, conducting diplomatic missions with species that played a role in the Dominion War, such conducting a diplomatic mission with the Bajorans. Discovery would also conduct diplomatic missions with species in the Gamma Quadrant, such as the Dominion.        
Later that year, Discovery and 27 other Starfleet vessels converged on a transwarp conduit that had opened less than a lightyear away from Earth. Admiral Owen Paris ordered the fleet to use all necessary force to any Borg vessels that emerge. A Borg sphere emerged from the collapsing conduit in front of the fleet. The ships Immediately opened fire but caused no significant damage. Suddenly the sphere exploded leaving the fleet and officers at Starfleet Communications dumbfounded. Suddenly, the USS Voyager emerged from the explosion, having returned to the Alpha Quadrant after spending seven years in the Delta Quadrant. Discovery and the fleet escorted Voyager back to Earth.
== Destruction of Discovery ==
An engagement with a renegade Klingon Bird-of-Prey commanded by the Doran sisters in 2378 resulted in extensive damage to Discovery. The ship's magnetic interlocks were ruptured, and before efforts could be made to repair them, a coolant leak began. Discovery was just five minutes away from a warp core breach and there was nothing that could be done to stop it.
Faced with this scenario, Captain Tyson ordered the evacuation of the crew from the secondary hull to the saucer section. Once the evacuation had been completed, the saucer could separate and get to a safe distance before the stardrive section was destroyed by the core breach. Detmer and Dr. McAllister oversaw evacuations of their respective departments and completed with one minute to spare. The saucer's impulse engines were engaged as soon as it cleared the secondary hull, but the saucer was unable to get to a safe distance before the core breached. The explosion produced a shock wave that disabled the helm controls and propelled the saucer into a degraded orbit of Altamid IV, forcing the saucer into the planet's atmosphere.
With the saucer hurtling towards the surface of the planet, T'Shara managed to reroute the auxiliary systems to the lateral thrusters and thereby restore thruster control, which, in lieu of the disabled impulse engines, she could use to level their decent. Tyson called for all hands to brace for impact and, moments later, the saucer crash-landed on the planet's surface, leaving a large trail of destruction many kilometers long in its wake. Owing to its relatively safe landing, the Discovery's casualties were minimal. Unfortunately, severe damage sustained by the primary hull in the battle and subsequent crash landing rendered the ship unsalvageable. The ship's crew was rescued by the USS Phoenix, along with an Excelsior-class ship and a Nova-class ship. (Star Trek Genesis)
=== Legacy ===
Commander Sullivan was upset over the loss of the Discovery, since it's kept them together. Though Jemison expressed her thoughts saying "I've been a captain for fourteen years, most of them was with Discovery." she expressed doubt that Discovery would be the last vessel to carry the name.
Discovery was so dear to her crew that, much of them resigned or considered resigning from Starfleet. Vice Admiral William Ross expressed regret on the loss of Discovery and offered condolences over the destruction of the ship to Tyson, saying that Discovery "was the ship that united the Alpha and Gamma Quadrants."
Captain Tyson's belief that Discovery would not be the last ship to bear the name was borne out with the christening of the Sovereign-class USS Discovery-A, the following year. In that instance, the legacy of Discovery continued with Tyson reprising her role as CO and selecting the former crew from Discovery, with the notable exception of Doctor McAllister who had been reassigned.
== Crew ==
As of 2370, some seventeen species were represented among the 1,014 members of the ship's complement, at that time including Betazoid, Bajoran, El-Aurian, Trill, Vulcan, and Human. With the addition of the Maquis, the crew complement rose. As of 2378, there were crewmembers from non-Federation worlds. The ship also carried dolphins in the aquatics lab.
A Jem'Hadar attack during its transfer into the Gamma Quadrant was costly for the crew. Over a dozen crew members were killed including the original first officer, chief engineer, and transporter chief. However over the course of her journey, Discovery gained crew members from species indigenous to the Gamma Quadrant such as Telpan, Rakhari, Yaderan Tess. Former Borg drones such as Eighteen also joined the crew during Discovery's encounters with the Borg. In 2374, Discovery also received several surviving crew members from the starship USS Exeter.
Although Starfleet and Maquis crewmembers staffed the vital positions on board Discovery, civilian crewmembers were allowed to hold important jobs in the ship's science and medical departments, as well as support area like Ten Forward and the ship's school and arboretum. Discovery also included children among the civilians on board.
Crew evaluations were conducted every three months, and were supervised by Executive Officer Matt Sullivan and Counselor Carol Price.
=== Command crew ===
* Commanding officer
** Sharon Tyson (2367-2378)
** T'Shara (2374) (acting)
** Matt Sullivan (2376, 2377) (acting)
* First officer
** Hugh Hudson (2367-2370)
** Matt Sullivan (2370-2378)
* Second officer/operation manager/science officer
** T'Shara (2367-2378)
* Tactical officer/security chief
** Alyssa Lang (2367-2370)
** Gene Traynor (2370-2378)
* Chief engineer
** John Gregory (2367-2370)
** Owen Larson (2370)
** Karen Detmer (2370-2378)
* Chief medical officer
** Sarah Thacker (2367-2370)
** Ian McAllister (2370-2378)
* Counselor
** Carol Price (2367-2374)
** Ash Price (2375-2378)
* Astrometrics officer
** Second of Twelve (2375-2378)
* Flight controller (conn)
** Kayla Pollard (2367-2370)
** Alex Thacker (2370-2378)
* Transporter chief
**R.A. Collins (2367-2370)
**Mark Decker (2370-2378)
== Technical data ==
=== Physical arrangement ===
With a total of 42 decks, the USS Discovery was twice the length and eight times the interior space of the Constitution-class ships of a century earlier; she had a combined crew and passenger load of 1,014.
The bridge, captain's ready room, and conference lounge were located on Deck 1, and were protected by redundant safety interlocks to prevent environmental systems failure.
The main shuttlebay was on Deck 4, supported by several cargo bays on Deck 4 and Deck 18. Two additional shuttlebays were found on Deck 13.
Deck 8 of the ship was an unfinished multipurpose deck. Additional workspaces were set there when needed. It also contained the officer's quarters, some guest quarters, quarters for the Borg crewmembers, and the battle bridge.
Deck 12 contained sickbay and the gymnasium, while main engineering was located on Deck 36. Engineering took up twelve decks of the secondary hull, with the antimatter storage pods housed on Deck 42. There was a science section on Deck 15.
The primary docking ports were located either side of the torpedo launcher on Deck 25; the nacelle control room was also on that deck. The most acoustically perfect spot on the ship was the fourth intersect of Jefferies tube 25. The intersection formed a resonance chamber for the sound compression waves.
Discovery had a maximum sustainable speed of warp 9.8 for twelve hours.
The warp core could generate a tremendous amount of energy at once if needed; the only device on the ship capable of channeling such energy all at once, at controlled frequencies, was the main deflector dish. There were some four thousand power systems in all on board the ship. She also had twenty transporter rooms, with at least one on Deck 6.
Category:Federation starships
Category:Galaxy class starships