Star Trek: Underworld is the second phase of Star Trek: The Interim Years. After the Excelsior stories deal with the Star Trek we know and love, Underworld moves away from this to deal with 'ground level' Star Trek. This does for the Star Trek Universe, what Andor did for the Star Wars one. This is a firm movement away from the cameos and familiar big ship Starfleet of the Star Trek series so far. This is my story that "Deconstructs Star Trek and the United Federation of Planets", looking at why they are the good guys and what the Federation is really like for normal people in normal jobs, away from the elite explorers of Starfleet. Frontier deals with the lives of civilians, the masses who inhabit the Federation. What is life like for them? Away from the core worlds on the myriad of colonies, where a new poverty exists: the poverty of opportunities. How equal are the lives of the people living in the Federation utopia? Federal law Vs. Colonial law. It also addresses the merchant trader perspective, looking at trade and criminality in the Star Trek universe. The antagonists of the series, the Orion Syndicate are explored in depth. This is a full on graphic look at a culture of a criminal cartel, a different kind of threat to the Klingons, Romulans or Tholians: a more direct, personal threat. The U.S.S. Interceptor is the third of these story arcs, bringing to life the mall ship navy that is the majority of Starfleet. We've seen the Enterprise, Hood, Potemkin, Repulse and other big name, big ships. This is about the thousands of small ships that do the daily work that helps the Federation to work: first responders, police work, refugee rescue, relief work, showing the flag and diplomatic work. Whilst these ships don't grab the headlines like the Enterprise, they work just as hard.
Star Trek: Underworld has a different feel. Small ships are more personal, everyone knows everyone else personally. Something you can't really do on a ship of 502 people, but you can on a ship with only 45 people. The smaller size and need for officers and crew of a lower rank, allows for a younger crew with fewer years on the clock than Kirk and co. had by the latter three movies IV - VI. The Commanding Officer is around 28 - 30 years old and is only a Lieutenant Commander, their Executive Officer is a Lieutenant aged around 25 - 27. These are more aggressive, enthusiastic officers more akin to Royal Navy Lord Nelson's 'Band of Brothers'. Assigned to the colonies around the Orion system, they are the frontline against the Orion Syndicate, a major criminal cartel within the constrains of the United Federation of Planets. Whilst the two earlier series explained the roots and reasons for criminality in Paradise, Interceptor are the police and intelligence-gathering investigators that are defending civilians and merchants against the insidious clutches of the Syndicate. These are the adventure of the 45 members of the crew, along with their commando contingent. Starfleet Commando were shown in Star Trek V and will be built upon here. These are the brave tip of the spear who do stop-and-searches on merchant ships, as well as boardings to ensure compliance on trading laws.
Commissioned stardate 10905.4 - June 2299 - the Interceptor is the latest generation of the popular Okinawa class corvettes. With state of the art sensors and propulsion, she can outrun and outmanoevre most ships at sublight speeds. The latest upgrades to the design were added to counter the newer Klingon Bird of Prey design and the Orion privateers. Less like a cruiser or a larger naval vessel, this is akin to a patrol vessel like today's HMS Severn, Tyne, Mersey, Forth, Medway, Trent, Tamar or Spey of the Royal Navy River class. This ship deals with colonial issues - like HMS Forth does around the Falkland Islands and dependencies - as well as being the first responder to any emergencies out there on the final frontier. You're FAR more likely to send a patrol vessel to investigate, than to pull the Enterprise across the quadrant. As mentioned earlier, the Orion Syndicate are the adversaries. Underworld will build up on the Orion Syndicate and cartel culture, explaining how they relate to both the Orion people and the Federation itself. Their roots go right back to the very beginning. This is a diferent kind of threat; unlike the militaristic, belligerent Klingons or Romulans, many people benefit from the trade and activities of the Orion Syndicate. Some will see them as Robin Hood and aid them in evading from Starfleet. Some live in fear of the Syndicate; death and retribution can get you ANYWHERE and NOWHERE is safe, even on the Interceptor. The crew of Interceptor must punch above their weight to combat this threat, Starfleet Intelligence is one way that they do this. Star Trek: Interceptor will address Starfleet Intelligence, Starfleet Security and Federation Security: how these agencies all work together with Interceptor to keep Federation citizens safe. The thirty year-old Riker or Shelby-like commanding officer is a Lieutenant Commander. They didn't get the Enterprise or Excelsior, instead they have their own state-of-the-art command. With the thrill of the Big Chair and the drive of a sports team captain to win a cup, this officer has a chance to prove themselves and progress up the career ladder. Names and reputations are made this way. Over a thousand Okinawa class patrol the Federation; this is a winning formula.
The mission is critical. The Orion Syndicate have been shown to be a very real threat to the fabric of the Federation. With the distraction of larger and more militant nations, this danger wasn't fully appreciated. This is a very real, different and personal danger to facing starship combat against the Klingons. Many Starfleet personnel have been killed, maimed or otherwise blackmailed or deterred by the actions of the Syndicate. Better to quit Starfleet than to put your family, children or friends in danger. Fatal danger. The Syndicate has got making a horrific example down to a fine art. The Orion Sydicate is a cartel or gang culture with decentralised cells. Decentralised so that Starfleet Intelligence cannot collapse the organisation as a whole. Once it was Kirk and the Enterprise against the pirates. They soon learned they couldn't face Starfleet head on. They now operate through proxies and other third parties to obfuscate their operations. The Syndicate traffick people, drugs, sex workers and other artefacts, lifeforms and illegal products like AI or alternative medicines and banned services. They have Sicario-like assassins that eliminate theats to their trade. The Syndicate swapped from piracy to guerilla-style operations and Starfleet had a very real problem. Fear and intimidation cowed Starfleet and colonial governors alike. Things got VERY nasty. Starfleet Intelligence, along with Akula, Saladin and Okinawa class starships have worked hard to bring the balance back. This is the ROUGHEST and MOST DANGEROUS assignment within the Federation borders. Where Klingons have codes of honour, Orions don't. Face and respect are everything. Disrespect the Syndicate and expect trouble.
Crew:
49 crew: 13 Officers, 14 Non-Commissioned Officer and 22 enlisted.
Commanding Officer Lieutenant Commander (7 - 9 years since graduation).
Executive Officer Lieutenant
Science Officer Lieutenant (jg)
Chief Medical Officer Lieutenant (jg)
Chief Engineering Officer ensign
Security Chief ensign
Starfleet Commando ensign
Operations Officer Lieutenant (jg)
Mission Operations Officer ensign
Social Sciences Officer Ensign Nathaniel Hawkins.
Communications Officer ensign
Helm Officer ensign
Navigation Officer ensign
Cultural Expert: Orion male. Placed on the ship by Starfleet Intelligence.
U.S.S. Interceptor
Flight IIIa Okinawa class frigates incorporate the latest upgrades in open architecture command systems, replacing the orginal seventies ones. The improved sensor systems of baseline 8 phase 4, which incorporates Cooperative Operations Systems and adapted Snoopy sensors from the Apollo development program. Originally the Okinawa class was to be limited to a production run of a prototype, pre-production of a Low Rate of Initial Production (LRIP) and then to two full flights of a few hundred hulls. The prototype, NX 150, was launched in 2275 with the first Flight being built 2278-83. A second Flight II batch was built from 2285-89 with improvements made to the sensor and command systems, incorporating the latest enhancements to the DCLD.
The ratifying of the Khitomer Accords in 2295 brought a new requirement for frigates to reaffirm the border of the Federation - Klingon border. Another requirement for the new supply of frigates was to replace lost members of Okinawa Flight Ia and those whose hull members were considered life expired. Starfleet's Advanced Starship Design Bureau (ASDB) quickly rejected calls for a totally new design, opting for an upgrade of the successful Okinawa class, both for the speed of restarting the construction lines and their capacity for growth and multi-mission flexibility. Yards across the Federation quickly adapted operations from refitting Okinawa vessels to constructing new Flight IIIa and refitting the upgrades to the Flight Ic and Flight IIb vessels.
Okinawa class has been successfully shown an ability for flexibility and multi-mission swap-out mission modules. Variations on the Okinawa class include: police corvette, comando special forces, ELectronic INTelligence (ELINT), Suppression of Enemy Area Defences (SEAD), science version and diplomatic courier. In addition, Okinawa vessels have been used as a small, adaptable testbed for future starship technology. All the signs are there for a Flight IVa Okinawa construction and future upgrades. This successful hull design is destined to remain the Starfleet frigate design for the first half of this century.
The Okinawa class starship has 8 decks, summarised as follows:
Deck 1: Main Bridge, Antimatter tanks
Deck 2: Officers lounge, briefing room
Deck 3: Officer quarters, Crew quarters
Deck 4: Sickbay
Deck 5: Transporter room
Deck 6:
Deck 7:
Deck 8: Torpedo bay
Stardate 13489.5, Okinawa class U.S.S. Falkland, NCC 2309, diverted from the Churchill system to investigate a theft of intellectual property from the Dharma Initiative. Sister ship U.S.S. Interceptor joins the hunt for the thieves. With the ship too far ahead for either ship to catch, Starfleet guides the Sheffield to intercept. Operating from Starbase 52.
The Interceptor has two shuttles:
01 Keen
02 Agile
Author's Notes:
U.S.S. Interceptor is named both for the excellent, but short-lived game show on Channel 4 in 1989 starring Sean O'Kane in the titular role and it is also named for the ship of the same name in the film "Pirates of the Carribbean". Sean O'Kane is the source of the motto catchphrase for the ship, it being the one he used in the show, along with an eagle screech.
Author's Notes:
The Starfleet Okinawa class starship is very much like the contemporary Royal Navy River class Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV). The River class batch 1 has 45 crew - 13 officers, 14 senior rates and 22 junior rates.
Okinawa class Copyright © Interplay Games. All Rights Reserved.
Okinawa class bridge images Copyright © Howie Day. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission.
Okinawa class images Copyright © Andrew Brown. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission.
