USS Zodiac

The original configuration of the vessel

*“For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream.”* – Vincent Van Gogh
The **USS *Zodiac* (NCC-96102)** was a *Jupiter*-class scale 7 carrier in service to Starfleet in the 25th century. It served as the flagship of the *Zodiac* Carrier Group as part of Operation Golden Clover following the Iconian War.

## Service history

The *Zodiac* was part of the initial run of the *Jupiter*-class carriers designed by the Starfleet Corps of Engineers at the beginning of the Last Federation-Klingon War. Like its two sister ships, the *Zodiac* was rushed into service without being completed to its original design. It launched in mid-2406 to aid Starfleet in the war.

After a brutal engagement with the Undine, the *Zodiac* put into the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards for much needed repairs. At this time, Starfleet engineers decided to revisit the original design of the *Jupiter*-class and make minor adjustments. The USS *Zodiac* was the first of the *Jupiter* starships to be officially completed according to the class's initial design.

Recommissioned right before the end of the Iconian War, the USS *Zodiac* only saw action during the Second Battle of Earth. However, due to the quick resolution of the conflict and the carrier's excellent performance, the starship received little damage and was able to quickly redeploy after the war.

As part of a renewed effort to focus on the foundational Starfleet principle of exploration, the USS *Zodiac* was placed at the center of a carrier group assigned to use the Iconian gateways to explore the Milky Way Galaxy. This new endeavor, known as Operation Golden Clover, called for small survey squadrons to pass through the gateways to explore the far reaches of space. Rear Admiral Sacniete Hadwin was placed in command of the *Zodiac* Carrier Group, the unit assigned to the Solanae Dyson Sphere and its gateway network, and oversaw exploration of the area around the sphere and the far reaches of the Beta Quadrant.

## Senior staff

The following served as senior staff of the *Zodiac.*

## Auxiliary craft

The *Zodiac* could accommodate 100 shuttlecraft, four *Callisto*-class light escorts, and twenty workpods.

## Appendices

### Connections

**Leadership:** Commander-in-chief • Joint Chiefs • Chief of Starfleet External Affairs • Chief of Starfleet Operations • Chief of Starfleet Research and Exploration • Chief of Starfleet Tactical

**Agencies:** Operations (Engineering • Judicial • Materiel Supply • Mission Operations • Personnel Management • Records Service • Shipyards Operations • Starbase Operations) • Research & Exploration (Science • Medical) • External Affairs • Tactical (Intelligence • Security • MACO)

**Notable units:** Ktarn Fleet • Task Force 77

**Facilities:** Deep Space K-7 • Deep Space K-13 • Deep Space 9 • Masamichi Array • Starbase 45-Keepsake • Starbase 82-Maat • Starbase 234-Beskerm • Starbase 247-Vershina

**Agencies:** Starfleet • Diplomatic Corps • Department of Temporal Investigations • Federation Security Agency

**Facilities:** 40 Eridani A Starfleet Construction Yards • Antares Ship Yards • Beta Antares Ship Yards • Copernicus Ship Yards • Laikan Starfleet Shipyards • McKinley Station • Memory Project • New Aberdeen Shipyards • Proxima Maintenance Yards • Salazaar Shipyards • San Francisco Fleet Yards • TL-9139 Starfleet Maintenance Yards • Tranquility Base • Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards

### Sources consulted

* USS Zodiac (NX-96100) article at *Memory Beta*.
* U.S.S. Zodiac article at the *Star Trek Online Wiki*.