Dawn of the Federation

## USS *Aurora*

The USS *Aurora* is a *Columbia*-class vessel of the United Federation of Planets Starfleet, under the command of Captain Johann Vogel in the year 2165.

## Player Characters

Commanding Officer: Captain Johann Vogel

Executive Officer: Commander Bryce "Bad Luck" Baker

Chief Engineering Officer: Lt. Commander Nolan Erikson

Chief Medical Officer: Lt. Commander Dr. James F. Harrison, Jr.

Chief Tactical Officer: Lieutenant Tara sh'Thenehr

Chief Communications Officer: Lieutenant Noemi Merrick

## Supporting Characters

Chef - Culinary Specialist

Ensign Leanne Dally - Flight Control Officer

Ensign Morrows - Engineering Officer

Ensign John Franks - Flight Control Officer

Lieutenant Sironka - Head Nurse

Lieutenant Anne Gade - Security Officer

Ensign Lee - Science Officer

## Technical Specifications

Warp Speed Scale (TOS Scale):

* Normal Cruising Speed: Warp 6.5
* Maximum Cruising Sped: Warp 6.8
* Maximum Speed (12 hours): Warp 7

Deck Layout:

* Deck 1: Main Bridge, Captain's Ready Room, Mission Operations.
* Deck 2: Science Labs, Upper Computer Core.
* Deck 3: Science Labs, Computer Core, Recycling Systems, Crew Gym & Recreation Facilities.
* Deck 4: Secondary Engineering (Warp 5 Engine), Lower Computer Core, Transporter By One, Junior Officer & Enlisted Crew Quarters.
* Deck 5: Sickbay, Medical Labs, Science Labs, Docking Bay Facilities, Impulse Engines, Mess Hall, Galley, Cargo Bays, Life Boats, Officer and Enlisted Crew Quarters.
* Deck 6: Fore and Aft Armories, Ventral Launch Bay, Security Training Facilities, Torpedo Magazines.
* Deck 7: Ambassadorial Suite, Main Guest Quarters, Sensor Arrays and Processing Systems.
* Deck 8: Enlisted Crew Barracks, Deuterium Tanks, Emergency Plasma Vents.
* Deck 9: Warp Field Governor, Warp Plasma Manifold, Deuterium Tanks, Deuterium Control Room.
* Deck 10: Main Engineering (Upper Level), Chief Engineer's Office, Warp 7 Engine, Machine/Fabrication Shop.
* Deck 11: Main Engineering (Lower Level), Antimatter Injector Assemblies, Main Deflector, Tractor Beam Emitter Array, Lateral Sensor Array.
* Deck 12: Transporter Bay Two, Secondary Hull Computer Core, Lifeboats.
* Deck 13: Secondary Hull Computer Core, Subspace Mechanics Lab, Officer's Quarters.
* Deck 14: Primary Antimatter Storage, Antimatter Monitoring Room, Sensor Processing Lab, NCO Quarters.

## UFP Starfleet in 2165

The formation of the United Federation of Planets integrated the political, economic, scientific, and military resources of the member worlds in order to insure their security and prosperity in an increasingly unstable galacto-political environment. At least, that was the idea. By January of 2165, that integration is still far from complete, and has not always been smooth. For the new Federation Starfleet, combining the member-worlds’ existing fleets remains more of a theoretical exercise than a practical one. Although Starfleet operates under a unitary chain of command, multi-species crews remain rare, and those that do exist generally consist of a majority of one species, with a very few members of others serving aboard. Technological integration has also been a slow process. Federation membership brought with it the requirement for member-worlds to share scientific and technological resources, allowing Starfleet vessels to incorporate technologies that had previously been military or trade secrets. However, these retrofits could be problematic (for example, it took the engineering genius of Tobin Dax to get Andorian deflector shields, Vulcan tractor beams, and human warp fields to work together properly).

The next generation of ships, the first truly Federation starships, will feature integrated technologies from the keel up, but for now, those vessels only exist on the drawing boards at the various Fleet yards. In the meantime, Starfleet has done the best it can with the fleet it has. After the discovery and publication of the original Kir’Shara of Surak, Vulcan has renounced militarism and decomissioned its military fleet, but has allowed Starfeet to repurpose Vulcan warships’ systems in the construction of a series of outposts along the Romulan Neutral Zone, while the ships of the Vulcan Science Academy cooperate with Starfleet on long-term research missions. Andorian vessels, with their combat-oriented designs, have been assigned primarily to border patrol and defense missions, while Tellerite ships criss-cross Federation space in supply and logistics roles. Like the Andorian vessels, the human starships have also retained their original mission, and now function as Starfleet’s exploration arm.

Like their ships, Starfleet’s crews are largely the products of pre-Federation services. Founded in December of 2161, the first classes to have gone through the complete course of study at Starfleet Academy and Starfleet Technical Services Academy will not be commissioned until May of 2166. While some junior officers and crew received one or two years of Academy training, the majority of active Starfleet personnel have only been able to undertake professional development training as they have moved into their new roles in the Federation’s Starfleet. Fortunately, the last five years have been peaceful, allowing Starfleet and the Federation needed time to work through their growing pains.

As 2165 begins, Starfleet has finally begun to recover from the losses suffered during the Romulan War, and cooperation among Federation worlds has led to a major new success: the warp 7 engine. Outfitted with this new engine, the Columbia-class starships are capable of going farther and faster than any human, Vulcan,  Andorian, or Tellarite ships have gone before. Able to undertake missions lasting up to three years, the Columbia-class is the Federation’s first long-range explorer, more than capable of fulfilling Zephram Cochrane’s injunction to “seek out new life, and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.”