General Overview

The U.S.S. Saratoga NCC-31911-B is the second Starfleet vessel named in honor of the Miranda Class U.S.S. Saratoga NCC-31911, is the seventh Starfleet vessel to be named in honor of the American Revolutionary War Battle of Saratoga, and is the thirteenth Constitution III Class starship built by the Federation. Despite its relatively short career, the Saratoga has received a reputation among Starfleet as being an unlucky vessel as it has been involved in several high-profile incidents during its lifetime.

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History

Prelude

In the early 2380s, the United Federation of Planets discovered that the Hobus Star would soon go supernova, destroying Romulus and Remus of the Romulan Star Empire and would kill at least nine hundred million Romulans. The Empire requested aid from the United Federation of Planets and Admiral Jean-Luc Picard of Starfleet was chosen to mobilize a massive rescue armada at Mars to conduct evacuation efforts. On First Contact Day in 2385, multiple A500 androids went rogue and numerous vessels piloted by the androids began targeting the rescue armada, the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards, the Mars Orbital Facility, and other Martian facilities. Starfleet dispatched a task group in response but were unable to prevent the destruction of almost the entire surface of the planet.

When the flames settled the death toll was discovered to have quickly risen to 92,143 people and the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards were destroyed along with all vessels being constructed there. Further complicating matters was that the synthetic workers, which were initially thought to have had a programming error, were banned by the Federation Council in response to the destruction. With the loss of resources, all exploration was placed on hold as Starfleet Command began to scale back operations, and Starfleet took on a more militaristic mission. Romulus was later destroyed in the supernova as predicted, leading to a high death toll, and a power vacuum to emerge in the Beta Quadrant. With the lack of Starfleet support, the Romulan Neutral Zone collapsed, and the planets there were left to themselves with many independent groups struggling to maintain order and help worlds the Federation left behind.

Due to the lack of resources and manpower impacting Starfleet, as well as significant morale issues caused by the change in Starfleet's exploratory mandates, Starfleet Command issued directives to the Corps of Engineers to begin work on a new class of vessel that would be able to fulfill a variety of mission objectives while requiring less resources than previous starship construction. The Neo Development Project was assigned to San Francisco Fleet Yards, Earth, and development on the first wave of vessels began in 2396. Placed on an accelerated timetable, the Corps of Engineers review prior Starfleet designs in an effort to potentially find a work around to meet the demands placed upon them. The Corps of Engineers decided that Project Neo would become the rebirth of the venerable Constitution Class and would serve as a symbol to remind the galaxy of the traditions that made the Federation great. While initial construction began at San Francisco Fleet Yards, additional vessels would be built at the 40 Eridani A Federation Fleet Docks on Vulcan, Consolidated Marine Yards on Tellar Prime, and the Imperial Fleet Yards on Andoria.

Construction and Launch

Development of the new U.S.S. Saratoga began in the summer of 2396 when Starfleet's Corps of Engineers and the Advanced Starship Design Bureau began reviewing inventory records for starships that could be successfully recycled to begin construction of the New Constitution Class. Using records submitted by Commander Raffaela Musiker that were initially intended to serve as replacements for the Romulan rescue armada, the Starfleet Corps of Engineers reviewed the inventory of mothballed vessels from Beta Antares Ship Yards and the 40 Eridani A Starfleet Construction Yards to find suitable vessels that could be recycled and reviewed the records of the Constellation Class U.S.S. Saratoga NCC-7100. Deeming the hulk as suitable for recycling, the Saratoga was towed to a drydock facility and dismantling initiated on Stardate 63716.1 (September 19, 2386).

Work on the Saratoga was slow going as, in many ways, an entirely new form of starship construction was being developed alongside the Neo Constitution Class fleet. Critical components of the former Saratoga were carefully evaluated by Yard Engineers and other personnel to ensure suitability for usage on the new Saratoga, with special focus placed upon the Warp Nacelles and computer systems. While most vessels being recycled were lost in the Dominion War, the Saratoga was the oldest vessel selected and still incorporated Duotronic SCOMS based systems, complicating the recycling process. Despite this, much of her existing hull structure could be salvaged and incorporated into the new design.

A significant conflict with the construction came from the loss of the synthetic workforce used in construction of vessels and the 40 Eridani A Federation Fleet Docks were not immune, requiring the usage of traditional construction techniques and more time needed. Starfleet Command and the Starfleet Corps of Engineers could not support a lengthy timetable. This was further complicated by resource scarcity, despite most of the vessel being build of recycled components. This lack of resources led to estimates that the Saratoga would take nearly ten years to successfully complete with the maintaining of all safety factors. In secret, the Shipyard Managers authorized personnel to cut corners to meet construction milestones. Lower quality materials were authorized for use and much of the starship's existing internal skeleton and fittings were left in place to support rapid construction.

While these shortcuts remained undetected for most of the construction period, the cost cutting measures were discovered during a critical incident that led to the death of five personnel. While undergoing testing of the Saratoga's Phaser Banks, the starboard power coupling overloaded and the auxiliary backups failed to initialize promptly, flooding radiation across decks twenty-five through twenty-eight. The radiation interacted with the quaratum being stored within the Cargo Bay, causing a reaction within the mineral that led to an explosion, requiring venting the impacted compartments to space and jettisoning the cargo stores to contain the fire. An internal investigation deemed the accident preventable had efforts not been taken to sidestep appropriate safety precautions and appropriate materials been utilized. The Yard Superintendent was arrested by Starfleet Security and the Corps of Engineers implemented cleanup procedures to salvage the Saratoga.

While the christening ceremony for the Saratoga was initially envisioned to have the pomp and circumstance of a flagship class, the incidents of the Saratoga's development led Starfleet to scale back their original plans and the vessel would launch with little fanfare on Stardate 73393.5 (May 24, 2396). Benzite Captain Ratith was assigned to command the Saratoga during her first mission of exploration.

 

Under Captain Ratith

With the fall of the Romulan Star Empire and the power vacuum left from the destruction of this historic power, the United Federation of Planets assigned the Saratoga to the former Romulan Neutral Zone. While the Constitution III Class was a multirole exploratory cruiser designed to push beyond the Federation's frontier, many of the vessel's assignments found it responding to the needs of former Romulan worlds and facing challenges from the diverse array of follow up governments vying for control of the collapsed empire. While the Saratoga was a dedicated peacekeeper, many among its staff were disenfranchised by their lack of exploratory missions and the vessel became a revolving door for personnel during most of its early years. Morale aboard the Saratoga was further eroded when Starfleet Command assigned the ship to escort Federation Merchant Marine freighters to Romulan colonies.

In 2398 the Saratoga was selected to transport Federation President Anton Chekov to the newly established Romulan capital on Rator III. Impressed by his treatment aboard the Saratoga, President Chekov coordinated with Starfleet Command to have the Saratoga reassigned to the Federation Diplomatic Corps to serve as the Presidential Transport. Serving as Starfleet One, the Saratoga saw additional stability and improved morale amongst its crew as it transported the Federation President and his staff throughout the galaxy. The Saratoga took on a ceremonial role in multiple induction ceremonies for new Federation member worlds and was an instrumental component of President Chekov's reelection campaign, serving as his transport while campaigning on multiple Federation worlds.

The Saratoga's tenure with the Federation Diplomatic Corps would come to a definitive end in 2400 when Saratoga was significantly damaged during a routine docking assignment at Spacedock. Two crewmembers - Including Captain Ratith - were killed and 47 injured during the accident. Starfleet Command ordered the Saratoga inspected at San Francisco Fleet Yard and repaired. The Starship Hikaru Sulu was reassigned as Starfleet One in Saratoga's place.

Current Assignment

Repair of the Saratoga was projected to be completed on Stardate 78280.4 (April 13, 2401), leading Starfleet Command to focus efforts on ensuring that the vessel met the deadline to participate in the 250th Frontier Day Anniversary. With the decommissioning of the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-F and the launch of the U.S.S. Voyager NCC-74656-B scheduled to occur, the Saratoga's relaunch would serve as a third major draw for the event due to the historic nature of the Saratoga's name.

Moored at San Francisco Yard awaiting authorization to depart, the Saratoga was witness to the USS Enterprise-F departing Sol Station on its final cruise and Admiral Elizabeth Shelby's demonstration of fleet formation mode. While remaining unnetworked, the Saratoga was not initially subject to fleet formation mode and remained active under the power of the Dry dock. Despite this, the crew of Saratoga was partially assimilated by the Borg Collective through the altering of their DNA via the transporter. Every crewmember under the age of 25 succumbed to the Borg virus and began work to eliminate everyone else, starting with the execution of Captain Ospak, the Tiburonian Captain of the Saratoga, while still in his Captain's Chair. Several members of the Bridge crew were able to escape, including First Officer Zseeq.

Capturing the Saratoga, the Borg initialized the departure sequence for the vessel and assisted in transmission of the Vox signal to the rest of the fleet. Joining the primary fleet, the Saratoga took position and began firing upon Sol Station while Commander Zseeq and several members of the crew continued efforts to retake the ship from the lower decks. As Sol Station fell, the Saratoga - in historic irony - was tasked with targeting its own namesake community on Earth's surface. As the vessel was preparing to fire, Commander Zseeq and his team were able to cause a momentary loss of primary power. This, coupled with the efforts of the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D, gave the crew the opportunity to retake the Saratoga from the Borg.

Due to the relative minor damage experienced by the Saratoga, the ship was quickly repaired and returned to active service. With the loss of many officers in the Borg invasion, Zseeq was promoted to Captain and placed in command of the Starship Saratoga. The Saratoga would be assigned to the Maelstrom soon after and launched on Stardate 78326.9 (April 30, 2401).

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Constitution III Class Schematic Diagram