Starship Leviathan

short summary of the Eso (Xoes' species) art by @foodcu-be.bsky.social LCARS graphic and summary by me

Short character bio on Xoes art by @foodcu-be.bsky.social LCARS graphics and bio by me

So, I teased how the main character of this has changed a while ago. Originally, I went into this with the idea that Captain Androx would be the lead because, well, he's the captain. But at the same time, Androx is sort of a pseudo-self insert character. He's literally my character toon in STO.

not just because Xoes is so much more developed, but because Androx literally represents the player character in STO, something anyone who has played the game has already experienced. Putting Xoes in the forefront gives me the chance to reframe those stories from a totally different perspective.

So, I teased how the main character of this has changed a while ago. Originally, I went into this with the idea that Captain Androx would be the lead because, well, he's the captain. But at the same time, Androx is sort of a pseudo-self insert character. He's literally my character toon in STO.

Meanwhile, in forming Leviathan's crew/supporting characters, I ended up putting more and more effort into developing this original alien character who would become Xoes. It started with design and backstory, and grew into a lot world building for their species and homeworld.

Like most Odyssey class starships, Leviathan was originally fitted with a bridge module very similar to USS Verity's. However, when Levithan's bridge took critical damage during the Klingon attack that ended the B'Tran Cluster mission, the ship's bridge was completely rebuilt.

The difference between the Block III Odyssey-class and the previous two versions was not just that it had never been equipped with the failed Fleet Formation technology, they were also fitted with increased hangar space, allowing for a greater number of auxiliary craft, including wings of fighters.

This allowed the Block III to carry a greater compliment of auxiliary craft than even the Block I Odyssey-class, which featured a third shuttle bay at the aft section of the secondary hull. The Block II Odyssey replaced the third shuttle bay for the Aquarius docking slip.

So, I've kinda been neglecting this project, largely because most of it was on twitter and updating the bluesky page seemed like too big of a thing and I just wanted to move to the next step, but I'm still kinda figuring out what that step is. But, I want you to know, this is still a thing.

While exploring the B’Tran Cluster, Leviathan cataloged new anomalies, charted unexplored systems, and remarkable discoveries and first contacts. However, they weren’t the only ship in the cluster. In mid-2407, Leviathan was intercepted by a multiple Klingon ships. (1/4)

Leviathan wouldn't launch again until early 2409, under the command of newly promoted Captain Settev Androx. (4/4)

While exploring the B’Tran Cluster, Leviathan cataloged new anomalies, charted unexplored systems, and remarkable discoveries and first contacts. However, they weren’t the only ship in the cluster. In mid-2407, Leviathan was intercepted by a multiple Klingon ships. (1/4)

The Klingons ordered Leviathan's crew to submit to search for 8472 infiltrators. When Leviathan's captain refused, battle commenced. Despite being outnumbered, Leviathan managed to fight off the attacking Klingons, but at very high cost. (2/4)

USS Leviathan NCC-97047 Odyssey-class Star Cruiser Launched: 2403 “Reality provides us with facts so romantic that imagination itself could add nothing to them.” – Jules Verne

While the Federation had hoped to enter a new era of peace following Frontier day, the rest of the galaxy had it’s own ideas. Tensions between the Klingon Empire and Gorn Hegemony quickly escalate to war following the rise of the new Klingon chancellor, J’mpok. (1/5)

The following year, J'mpok invoked ancient claims on the Archanis Sector, much like Gowron did in their last war with the UFP, and ordered the expulsion of all Federation citizens. Later that year, war was officially declared on the Federation when the KDF invaded Archanis. (5/5)

While the Federation had hoped to enter a new era of peace following Frontier day, the rest of the galaxy had it’s own ideas. Tensions between the Klingon Empire and Gorn Hegemony quickly escalate to war following the rise of the new Klingon chancellor, J’mpok. (1/5)

The conflict soon spilled over to the surrounding regions. The Nausicaans and Letheans allied with the Gorn, the Orion Syndicate with J'mpok. By 2405, the Hegemony surrenders to the Empire, where several Gorn leaders are revealed to actually be Species 8472. (3/5)

While the Federation had hoped to enter a new era of peace following Frontier day, the rest of the galaxy had it’s own ideas. Tensions between the Klingon Empire and Gorn Hegemony quickly escalate to war following the rise of the new Klingon chancellor, J’mpok. (1/5)

The Aquarius-class escort featured armaments similar to a Defiant-class, but was roughly half the size, giving it an operational range only a bit larger than a standard Runabout. Because of this, it was utilized as an auxiliary craft for starbases and Odyssey-class ships. (1/2)

When the first Odyssey-class ships started launching, many in Starfleet began to affectionately referring to them as "space whales" due to their large size and shape. This inspired the naming convention for the Block III Odysseys, fabled and mythical sea creatures.

Leaving behind the tumultuous times of the late 24th century and moving into the 25th, a renewed effort was made for Starfleet to focus more on its primary mission of exploration, discovery, and diplomacy. "Getting Starfleet back to its roots," as it was often put.

Several of the Block III Odysseys would be assigned to classic five year exploratory missions, harkening back to those carried out by the Constitution-class ships of the mid-23rd century, a time widely considered to be Starfleet's golden age.

Starfleet Emergency Protocol NX12.11, aka Fleet Formation Mode, was a computer protocol developed to place any Starfleet ship under automated control to vastly improve fleet coordination. It was publicly unveiled at the Frontier Day celebration above Earth in 2401. (1/3)

Fleet Formation Mode would prove to be a total disaster when the Borg used it to take control of the entire fleet present for Frontier Day, resulting in significant Federation loses. The protocol and the technology developed for it were quickly decommissioned. (2/3)