Starfleet

Starfleet is the exploratory and defense service of the United Systems Federation. Its primary purpose is scientific discovery, with the majority of its resources and personnel dedicated to missions of exploration and research. Alongside that stands the work of Starfleet diplomats, representing USF interests abroad in initial contacts. Finally, Starfleet provides security to USF citizens, including protection of shipping lanes and borders and, when necessary, military deployment. Starfleet units are often highly flexible, capable by training and ideology of undertaking a wide range of missions.

## History

### Predecessors

Starfleet's most direct precursor is the Earth Alliance Starfleet. However, Starfleet's origins can be found way back to the 21st-century Solar Era, a period of intrasolar exploration and colonization that was initiated by the invention of the Epstein drive in 2041.

After the end of the Third World War in 2051, the Ankara Consensus pushed for conflicts between great powers to be solved in space, and the victors established the Alliance for Earth, the precursor of the Earth Alliance, as a successor to the United Nations and NATO, being both a supranational organization and a military alliance. At the same time, the Immortalist Exodus of 2053 would cause the 2053 Aenygma Disaster, which formed the Aenygma Rift.

In order to further research the event and the resulting tear in the fabric of space-time, the Alliance created the Aenygma Rift Investigation Agency (ARIA). This agency, which employed some of the most brilliant minds of its time, was the oldest ancestor of Starfleet.

From studying the rift, Humanity would learn of the existence of a lower spatial dimension they called subspace in 2077. Over the next decades, they would increase further their knowledge of it and, by integrating subspace physics into physicist Miguel Alcubierre's equations for a faster-than-light warp engine, Wallace Fujikawa would develop the first theoretically feasible model for its construction.

With true faster-than-light travel now a real possibility, in 2081, the nations of Earth would create a new organization, now with a mandate independent of the Alliance, the United Earth Space Probe Agency (UESPA).

After absorbing ARIA's mandate, UESPA would further develop subspace science and establish Project Lightspeed, the first attempt to develop an Alcubierre drive. The project would finally lead to the breaking of the light barrier in 2098, when the UESPA's coleopteric ship, IPX Pioneer, became the first object in Human history to reach faster-than-light speeds.

The invention of the Warp Drive would revolutionize Human history. The freely available UESPA warp designs would be soon integrated into a number of colony ships that were already in construction, leading to the first wave of Human extrasolar exploration. Though the majority of those ships would be eventually destroyed, some would come to find new worlds, among which some of the oldest Human extrasolar colonies, such as Valinor and Asgard.

### Earth Starfleet

In 2115, the Alliance of Earth would be reformed into the Earth Alliance, which now held dominion over all of Earth and its Solar colonies, as well as claiming authority over all of Humanity.

While the Alliance Supreme Command, which was a collective of the national militaries of all Alliance member-nations, would be absorbed into the new Earth Defense Force (EDF), the military of the Earth Alliance, UESPA would be converted into the new Stellar Travel Authority and Research Fleet (STARFLEET).

Starfleet was not originally created as a defensive organization, but as a scientific, exploratory, space travel security, and search and rescue service. The latter two mandates were the reason why its starships, though not designed for war, had some combat capabilities.

Over the next century, as Earth further pushed to impose its authority over the colonies, tensions became further incensed. The EDF, as Earth's main power projection tool, became the symbol of Earther oppression in the colonies, with few extrasolar Humans ever joining. On the other hand, Starfleet's reputation as a serious scientific and humanitarian organization made it extremely popular among them, to the point that, by 2200, one third of Starfleet personnel was formed by extrasolar Humans, compared to just 8% for the EDF. This was only possible due to the very mandate of Starfleet, which was a constitutionally established entrenched clause that allowed it a wide level of independence.

The difference and rivalry between the EDF and Starfleet was further visible by their design philosophy and technology. EDF ships were larger, more angular, more menacing, and preferred disruptor- and plasma-based weapons. Starfleet had more round shapes, lighter coloring, smaller size, and from the 2140s onward have preferred phase-weaponry.

Because of its mandate and extensive humanitarian work in outer space, Starfleet would frequently come into conflict with the EDF. It wouldn't be until 2225, however, that they would first trade blows.

### USF Starfleet

In 2225, after the Starfleet vessel Fontainebleu arrived to respond to a distress call from the damaged Asgardian ship Rurik that was caught by the Charybdis Maw singularity's event horizon, the EDF ship Vaisravana arrived and informed that the ship was carrying Asgardian dissidents. The Fontainebleu was ordered to leave, but ended up defending the Rurik as it escaped, leading to a struggle with the Vaisravana and the Fontainebleu's ultimate demise.

The event sent shockwaves throughout Human space. Protests break up on Earth over the EDF's brutality, and the crew of the Fontainebleu is celebrated in Asgard and other insurgent worlds. The Battle of Charybdis became a breaking point for the Earth Alliance. In the same year, the Terran Revolutionary Front is established. This organization, which included Earth-based and colonial dissident groups, would eventually lead to the popular overthrow of the Earth Alliance in 2237 and its reform into the Terran Republic.

To this day, the Battle of Charybdis is celebrated throughout Humans space as Starfleet Remembrance Day. The holiday was established by King Magni of Asgard after the return of the Rurik.

The signing of the Treaty of Equals in 2239 would not only create the United Systems Federation, but rethink the place of Starfleet within the new organization. Upon the ratification of the new constitution, the Terran Stellar Travel Authority and Research Fleet would be reformed into the USF Starfleet and become the primary defensive service of the USF.

The reasoning behind turning Starfleet into the main defensive force of the new federation had many layers. First, in order to gain the trust of the other worlds to sign the treaty, Earth accepted to renounce its right to an independent military, while the other worlds would retain theirs. Though the EDF was quickly dismantled, some raised the concern that Starfleet could be interpreted as a military force, specially because it had more combat-capable assets than even many other worlds' own militaries, and be dismantled.

Of course, dismantling Starfleet would not have been popular. It was, by far, one of the most popular and well-reputed state organizations in Human space. Its vast assets and technical expertise could not be kept under Earth's sole authority, however. For this reason, it was to be reformed into a USF service.

Another reasoning, was that many colonies still didn't trust the concept of the USF. Earth renouncing its military while other worlds were allowed to keep theirs was certainly the right move to build trust, but then having a USF-wide military force was still thought about with caution. Starfleet had combat capabilities, but also a century-long culture of diplomacy and pacifism.

For this reason, Starfleet maintained most of its pre-USF mandate and structure. Officially, it was not a military, but an exploratory and scientific organization with a minor military role, defense. Though, as of the 2500s, it is not uncommon anymore to refer to Starfleet as a military, to this day it retains the unconventional emphasis on non-military roles, which still command the majority of Starfleet's time and resources.

(This would mean Starfleet would be ill-prepared for the First Thearchy War)

## Locations

### Starfleet Academy

In 2081, the Crichton Institute donates its Bay Area-Sausalito Campus and Fort Baker Laboratory Complex to UESPA in order to become the new Earth Space Academy, future Starfleet Academy.

## Real World

The difference between EDF and Starfleet designs pre-2239 is basically that EDF ships look like 23rd century Starfleet vessels from Star Trek Discovery. They are larger, more angular, darker, and more mean-looking. Starfleet vessels, on the other hand, are more similar to TOS ships and ships from the Kelvin-timeline films, such as the USS Kelvin.