USS Tempest (NCC-10535)

"'O brave new world, that has such people in't!' - William Shakespeare, The Tempest."

The USS Tempest (NCC-10535) was a 24th century Ambassador-class starship operated by Starfleet. The vessel was notable for participating in a number of significant discoveries, contacts, and historical events in the mid-24th century under the command of Captain Rye-jae Maddox.

Construction and Launch
The USS Tempest was constructed at Utopia Planitia Shipyards orbiting Mars, Sol System. The space frame was ordered and its registry assigned on March 7, 2321. Following approximately 28 months of construction and space trials, it was commissioned and launched on July 16, 2323.

Lineage
The Tempest was the first ship in the first production batch of Ambassador-class starships, following one initial and one follow up prototype batches. Like the other ships in its production batch, it was named for a famous vessel of exploration, in this case the SS Tempest, the first crewed human ship to reach another solar system.

The Ambassador-class USS Tempest (NCC-10535) was preceded by the Excelsior-class USS Tempest (NCC-2020), which was one of the first Excelsior-class starships to be ordered and constructed following the prototype Excelsior herself.

The Tempest's sister ships included the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-C), USS Phoenix (NCC-10537), USS Victoria (NCC-10538), USS Endeavour (NCC-10539), and USS Challenger (NCC-10540).

Early Service
Between its launch and stardate 15568.4, the Tempest operated under the command of Captain Koa Duwal. During this time, the ship participated in three extended deployments, four first contact missions, three Tzenkethi service campaigns, and six combat actions.

2338 Refit
On stardate 15568.4, the Tempest entered dry dock at Earth Spacedock to undergo a major refit. This refit coincided with Captain Duwal's retirement and stepping down from command. Because of the planned length of the refit, most of the existing crew, including the entire senior staff, were transferred to other postings.

Between stardates 15568.4 and 16026.4, the Tempest remained in drydock while its systems were serviced and upgraded. Some of the more significant upgrades included replacing the duotronic computers with an isolinear based system and upgrading the LCARS operating software. The bridge module, warp reactor, phaser arrays, lifeboats, transporters, and replicator systems were all replaced and/or upgraded. Various components, including the warp coils and deuterium tank, were also cleaned and purged. Auxiliary craft were also serviced and refreshed, torpedo and probe inventories restocked, and diplomatic, scientific, and medical facilities were upgraded.

Post-Refit
The refit was completed on stardate 16026.4, at which point Captain Rye-jae Maddox assumed command. The ship was relaunched and returned to active service a few days later on stardate 16029.2. In addition to Captain Maddox, a new command crew was also assigned, including Lieutenant Commander T.J. Goodspeed (Executive Officer), Lieutenant Commander Dr. Aurora Teal (Chief Medical Officer), and Lieutenant Nicholas Holden (Chief Engineering Officer). Following its relaunch, the Tempest was placed on general assignment duty, meaning its assignments were not tied to a particular facility or region of space.

2339
On stardate 16078.4, the Tempest investigated an old style distress beacon from an early Starfleet transport, the USS Eridanus (NCC-T117). Ultimately, they discovered the Eridanus trapped inside the perimeter of a temporal anomaly, its crew engaged in psychosis-induced sectarian violence. The Tempest crew cured the psychosis and discovered that an alien entity was responsible for the accidental creation of the temporal anomaly. With the Tempest 's help, the alien was able to seal the anomaly and return to his own dimension by separating the Eridanus ' primary warp nacelle and detonating it. Following the closure of the anomaly, the Eridanus and its surviving crew were escorted to Starbase 36. (1.0: A World With A Bluer Sun)

On stardate 16182.8, the Tempest was dispatched to the Federation colony of Carina VII, which was reporting strange temporal anomalies that were affecting the population and environment of the colony. The away team eventually traced the source of the anomalies to the abandoned hulk of the starship USS Hamilton (NCC-1765) in orbit of the nearby gas giant Carina X. They also discovered Romulan agents had also been investigating the anomalies and beaten them to the Hamilton. The away team traced the tachyons to an experimental weapon connected in the Hamilton 's engineering section and retrieved it. After encountering the Romulans and engaging in tense negotiations, the two parties agreed to destroy the plans for the weapon and allow the Romulans to take the tachyon-irradiated Hamilton back to Romulan space. (1.1: Entropy's Demise)

On stardate 16160.8, the Tempest participated in a demonstration of a new torpedo technology being offered to the Federation by the Angosian government. The test was interrupted when the torpedo prototype was stolen by Klingon and Romulan forces. The Tempest crew was able to remotely detonate the torpedo but still had to chase two Romulan ships as they attempted to flee back to Romulan space with the torpedo's remains. The Tempest was able to catch up to the ships in the vicinity of the Paulson Nebula, where it recovered the torpedo remains and then destroyed them to prevent them from falling into Romulan hands. After the prototype's ultimate destruction, the Romulans retreated to their own space. (1.2: That Which Is Unknown)

On stardate 16211.3, the Tempest arrived at the edge of the Romulan Neutral Zone to assist the USS Ellesmere (NCC-21464), which had inadvertently drifted into the Neutral Zone as the result of an apparent navigational error. In the course of conducting repairs and treating injuries aboard the Ellesmere, the Tempest crew discovered that the Ellesmere captain had been murdered and the ship's navigational array sabotaged. The Tempest crew was able to uncover the saboteur - a Romulan Tal Shiar agent posing as a Starfleet operations officer. The agent attempted to escape but was successfully captured, preventing valuable intelligence from falling into Romulan hands. They were also able to repair the Ellesmere enough to safely maneuver it back into Federation space. (1.3: Border Dispute)

On stardate 16270.8, the Tempest arrived in the Ivex system to mediate a potential dispute between two neighboring dilithium mining facilities - one Federation and one Klingon. In the course of negotiating with the Klingon personnel, the Tempest crew discovered intelligent life on Ivex II, the planet being mined by the Klingons. The alien(s) made first contact and requested the Tempest 's help in stopping the Klingons from destroying their habitat. Ultimately, the Tempest crew was able to negotiate a solution in which they transported the alien life form(s) to the Federation mining planet, though this necessitated shutting down the Federation mining operation. (1.4: Incident at Ivex)

On stardate 16428.0, the Tempest investigated a report of sabotage on Sentry Station 7, a Starfleet listening post located along the border of the Romulan Neutral Zone. It was the concern of Starfleet Command that the Romulans had compromised the station's security, potentially creating a massive security breach and leaving the Federation open to Romulan invasion. However, after investigation by the Tempest crew, it was discovered the sabotage was actually part of a plan on the part of the Orion Syndicate to plant a double agent inside Starfleet Intelligence. The plan failed and the would be double agent and several co-conspirators were taken into custody. (1.5: Sabotage on Station 7)

On stardate 16503.9, the Tempest was redeployed along the border with the Cardassian Union in response to a provocative fleet accumulation by the Cardassians. While on patrol, the Tempest encountered the freighter SS Kelebek, fleeing Cardassian space with Bajoran refugees and severely damaged by Cardassian forces. Ultimately, the Tempest delivered the Bajoran refugees to Federation space but destroyed the Kelebek and turned over its captain, the human smuggler Ash Loon, to Starfleet Security for other smuggling related offenses. (1.6: The Tempest Tossed)

On stardate 16581.1, the Tempest investigated a massive alien craft traveling at impulse speeds through a sparsely populated part of Federation space. The Tempest crew determined that the ship originated from far outside known space and contained an alien population that had since forgotten the nature of their existence aboard a ship. Though they discovered the means to reveal the truth of the aliens' existence by retracting the ship's roof, they chose not to, leaving the ship's society largely intact before returning to the Tempest. (1.7: Above the Highest Sky)

On stardate 167xx.x, the Tempest escorted Dr. Richard Galen, one of the Federation's foremost archeologists and scientists into Klingon space to conduct an archeological expedition on the uninhabited planet of Athrak V. Unbeknownst to all but Galen and a handful of others, the purpose of the expedition was to find and retrieve an artifact of an extinct ancient civilization that, if recovered, could potentially serve as a weapon of dreadful power. The expedition was ultimately successful, though the Tempest encountered both hostile Klingon elements as well as a rogue treasure hunter who attempted to steal the artifact herself. Ultimately with the assistance of the USS Stargazer (NCC-2893), the Tempest was able to recover the artifact and take the treasure hunter into custody, returning both to Federation space. (1.8: Boats Against the Current)

On stardate 168xx.x, Captain Maddox participated in a ritual contest with a Gorn counterpart, as part of a reoccurring ritual insisted upon by the Gorn every 18 years. The ritual involved the two captains competing against each other in a situation loosely based on the events of Federation/Gorn first contact. Maddox and his counterpart ultimately worked together to a degree to defeat a large wormlike creature native to the planet, solidifying diplomatic relations that had gone cold in the intervening 18 years. (1.9: The Captain in the Arena)

On stardate 169xx.x, The Tempest responded to a distress call from a Federation survey vessel operating as part of Project Sphex, an ongoing and classified project to research a particular alien species about which very little was known at the time. The scientist aboard the vessel asked the Tempest to rescue a colleague on a different survey vessel, whom he believed had somehow been brainwashed by the alien species in question, which caused him to maroon his shipmates and fly the vessel towards an unknown signal that possibly belonged to the alien species. The Tempest proceeded to the planet where the scientists had been marooned and, after rescuing them, was able to catch up to the hijacked survey vessel and take the scientist into custody. After being treated by Dr. Teal, he revealed that his intention to join the Sphex aliens was voluntary on his part and he requested that he be allowed to continue, which Maddox denied. Meanwhile, Goodspeed and Holden boarded the survey vessel to discover that it was slowly being transformed by an artifact of alien origin. They were able to recover the artifact and hold it in containment aboard the Tempest, after which Maddox ordered the survey vessel to be destroyed. At this point, the alien ship arrived and attempted to effect a 'rescue' (or kidnapping?) of the scientist, though the attempt was ultimately foiled by the Tempest crew. (1.10: Primum Non Nocere)

2340
On stardate 17xxx.x, the Tempest was tasked to sneak into Klingon space and confirm the existence and intentions of a potential invasion fleet and - if they determined the target to be Federation space - warn the Federation so they could take preemptive action. Proceeding to the border, they rendezvoused with Kolor, a Klingon who desired to keep the Empire from returning to war with the Federation and was willing to offer his assistance to the Tempest crew. With his help, they were able to sneak into Klingon space without incident, skirting the edge of detection by a listening post and getting close enough to the fleet to confirm its existence. The fleet's existence confirmed, the Tempest intercepted a courier bird-of-prey that would have specifics of the fleet's intended target. Using a backdoor prefix code, Kolor was able to disable the bird of prey, preventing it from escaping or sending a distress call. Tempest crew and Kolor boarded the ship searching for the physical datapad with the information. After an unsuccessful search in the Communications Room and the Captain's Chamber, Lieutenant Panther snuck into the captain's cabin, where he was able to find the pad, though not before being spotted by a bird-of-prey crewmember. All of the away teams were able to return to the Tempest safely however and, after unencrypting the datapad, determined that the fleet's target was not the Federation, but rather the Gorn Hegemony. After some discussion and contemplation, Captain Maddox ultimately chose to send a message to the Gorn, warning them of the attack. Doing so allowed them to power up their fleet and deploy it in time to blunt the fleet's advance. (2.1: The Wise Man Will Wage Just Wars)

Auxiliary Craft
The Tempest carries a standard complement of shuttle and auxiliary craft.

Everest-class Cutters

 * USS Manaslu (NCC-17679) (destroyed, 2337)
 * USS Denali (NCC-17687) (active)
 * USS Fuji (NCC-18089) (active)

Type-5 Shuttlecraft

 * Shackleton (NCC-10535/1)
 * Ross (NCC-10535/2)
 * Crozier (NCC-10535/3)

Type-13 Shuttlepod

 * Cristoforetti (NCC-10535/4) (destroyed, 2339)
 * Kumagawa (NCC-10535/5)

Work Bees

 * 10535-α
 * 10535-β
 * 10535-γ
 * 10545-δ

Command Crew

 * Commanding Officer
 * Koa Duwal (2323-2338)
 * Olanara (2338-2339) (acting, for duration of refit)
 * Rye-jae Maddox (2339-)
 * First Officer/Executive Officer
 * T.J. Goodspeed (2339-)
 * Chief Science Officer
 * Conrad Smythe (2340-)
 * Chief Medical Officer
 * Dr. Aurora Teal (2339-)
 * Chief Engineering Officer
 * Nicholas Holden (2339-)
 * Chief of Security
 * "Panther" (2339-)
 * Chief Flight Controller
 * Rijhar'd Douh (2339-)

Personnel

 * Deputy Chief Engineer Eele Notus (2339-)
 * Nurse K'at (2339-)
 * Lieutenant JG Ru (-2339)