Task Group 5.4 escaped through the hypergate with heavy damage to several of their member ships. Behind them, the star erupted into a supernova, obliterating the drives that controlled the hypergate in the Hayashi system and sending the gate tumbling out of the remains of the system. The gate, being neutronium, could not be consumed by the exploding star, but the delicate balance that allowed it to operate was destroyed with the rest of the system. U.S.S. Coronado, along with the other ships of Task Group 5.4, found themselves on the far side of the hypergate... which led to the galaxy known in the Milky Way as M64. Task Group 5.4 is more than nineteen million light years from home. The entire group is listed on Starfleet records as presumed destroyed.

Superheated gasses and white-hot plasma followed us from the supernova and erupted through this hypergate, obliterating its control drives. Without the ability to adjust the hypergate's spin rate, we have no way to respin the gate to return us home. Nobody in the Milky Way galaxy knows the "address" of our gate and we have no way to tell them. Task Group 5.4 is alone as no other Federation members have been before with little hope of ever reaching home.

Task Group 5.4 comprises twelve Starfleet capital ships including an Eclipse class battlecruiser and a Sovereign class explorer, four Federation support ships, fifteen Camelynian ships, and the captured Rihannsu destroyer. The group also includes 288 small attack fighters of various types, two Starfleet tugs, four corvette-class ships, about two dozen total ships of runabout size, and almost 200 shuttlecraft of various types. About 5,000 Starfleet members call the task group home, in addition to about 1,500 Starfleet Marines, 200 Federation civilians, and about 7,000 Camelynians.

In overall command of Task Group 5.4 is Starfleet Vice Admiral Brian Aldur. Brian Aldur is human, about 60 years old, born and raised on Titan in the Sol system. He has been in Starfleet for four decades since joining as a Starfleet Marine during the height of the first Cardassian War. He later spent more than 15 years in starship command, gaining credit for his ability to extract his ships from extremely hazardous situations. He was also known as a Starfleet "trouble-shooter" for some time, an ability that he put to good use in his task group command roles. Aldur is an extremely dedicated, efficient officer. Known throughout Starfleet for his cunning in battle, the Admiral has a reputation for ruthlessness against his enemies, but is also extremely caring of the personnel under his command.

Vice Admiral Aldur's flagship is U.S.S. Stirling, NCC-84378, an Eclipse class battlecruiser. More than 1000 meters long, the Eclipse class ships are among the biggest ships ever fielded by Starfleet. Intended to be fleet command ships, all are fitted with removable modules providing various capabilities.

The module installed on Stirling is a long-range subspace communications and ECM/ECCM module. With this module in place, Stirling is able to send and receive subspace communications at ranges exceeding 90 light-years. Normal subspace communications has a limit of about 22 light-years before the signal degrades to silence.

Stirling can act as a mobile long-distance communications relay between distant ships or bases, or can jam subspace communications over an extremely wide range. She can also receive LORASON sensor platform information from one ship and relay it to a distant ship using her communications suite. In addition, communications from Stirling propogate somewhat faster than standard subspace communications, achieving speeds exceeding warp 9.9999 and data transmission rates approaching 100 kiloquads per second.

Commanding Vice Admiral Aldur's flagship is Fleet Captain Rel'ao Narque. Narque is a Dekora, generally regarded as a race of borderline pacifists. However, this is seriously oversimplifying the case. Dekora are, by and large, very spiritual beings. Among the distinctive traits he exhibits as a Dekora, Narque has a high psi-sensitivity and frequently borders on full empathic ability (most notably when interacting with telepathic or empathically gifted species). This trait, combined with his culture's strong love of spiritual neutrality and inner peace helps him to understand the feelings and minds of others. He posesses a natural concern for the universe, and joined Starfleet primarily because he seeks to nurture the spiritual strength of the Federation and its companion Alpha Quadrant powers. Narque's race of Dekora is easily medically identifiable by their copper-based blood, green-tinted skin, upward-pointed ears and highly developed neural pathways. Physiologically, Dekora are in many ways similar to Vulcans, Rigellians, Romulans, and Orions. They posess these races' resiliency against harsh climate conditions; their planet itself dominated by a cold desert climate and nitrogen-rich atmosphere.

Task Group 5.4's other "big ship" is U.S.S. Odyssey, NCC-71832-B, a Sovereign class explorer. Odyssey was sent with the task group because she received severe damage on the Rihannsu front lines... damage that was only made worse during the initial battle that brought the group to M64.

U.S.S. Odyssey is a fairly typical Sovereign, with a large crew compliment, lush quarters and facilities, impressive diplomatic capabilities, and extremely strong defensive weapons. Normally, this would be the ship that is sent out to make contact with the races that might be nearby. However, the task group's initial job is to bring Odyssey back to spec after her damaging ordeals. Obviously, spare parts are somewhat difficult to come by, and as a result, the big ship generally stays close to M.R.F. Pearl.

The commanding officer of Odyssey is Captain Christina Margrove. Margrove is human and in her mid-30s, and is of almost pure Scotch-Irish descent, born in Dublin, Ireland on Earth. Margrove is a being of very strong emotions, both positive and negative. She has a temper that his second only to her compassion, anger that is second only to joy. She quite often excuses herself for several minutes during emotional situations, so as to not make command decisions that are biased by emotion. However, in critical situations, she is more than capable of putting her feelings aside and operating with an icy calm that a Vulcan might admire. She is a very bad enemy, but a very good friend.

It is always a mistake to underestimate Margrove -- she delights in being underestimated. Her physical stature (Margrove is less than 1.5 meters tall) only exacerbates the tendency for people to underestimate her capapbilities.

The newest addition to the task group is U.S.S. Vanguard, NCC-87947, which was pulled through the hypergate in Hayashi months after the rest of the group fled the supernova. An experimental testbed cruiser, Vanguard is endlessly modfiable and easily upgradable with six modular support slots and a modular mission pod clamp. At 560m in length, Vanguard is classified as a heavy cruiser.

Built to develop and prove new technologies, the ship is the second vessel to arrive in M64 with a transwarp drive, is also the only vessel other than Coronado to carry a LORASON sensor system, and mounts a one-of-a-kind subspace concealment and scanning device. However, Vanguard isn't a science ship; she is more than capable of defending herself in any hostile situation with a heavy phaser armament and a full squadron of Jaguar fighter-bombers.

Vanguard's commanding officer, Rear Admiral Todd "Maniac" Marshall, has been jokingly referred to as Brian Aldur's 'Knight in Shining Armor' as a result of his dedication and often routine rescue attempts of his former commanding officer. Despite their nearly opposite personalities, he and Aldur are lifelong friends. A former test pilot and R&D officer for almost twenty-five years, Marshall has a well-deserved reputation for driving his superior officers up the wall with the radical and unconventional thinking and tactics that earned him his moniker. Easily the most amicable and humourous flag officer in the task group, Marshall acts more like a cowboy than an Admiral, a trait that could both get the group into trouble, or ease highly tense situations.

While technically not as large as Stirling or Odyssey, one of the task group's premiere battleships is U.S.S. Gryphon, NCC-62899, an Akira class through-deck carrier. Gryphon fields 36 of the task group's attack fighters, and is often the temporary home to many of the others, including the short range Camelynian fighter craft.

Akira through-deck carriers (sometimes referred to as "Akira Cs") are the modern equivalent of 20th century aircraft carriers. Gryphon relies on her fighters for long-range striking power, and is armed with only minimal phasers. However, she carries a terrifying number of torpedo tubes for a Starfleet vessel; her upper module is a dedicated torpedo launcher, and Akiras generally include port and starboard torpedo launchers as a matter of course, very unusual in a Starfleet design. Even the most dedicated destroyer captain will rethink his options when faced with Gryphon driving through a firefight, throwing as many as 20 torpedoes simultaneously.

The commanding officer of Gryphon is a very unusual being -- Captain John Henes X is an android, only the second android to be offered command of a starship. Based roughly on the Noonian Soong design, Henes has both advantages and disadvantages over other androids of the same type. Henes is mistakable for human with human coloring and mannerisms. However, his left arm is easily and quickly replaceable with a variety of components, including heavy weapons... Henes has been in continuous command of Gryphon for more than 25 years, through several major refits. He shows no particular desire for higher command, telling anyone who will ask and not a few that don't that he feels he has reached his first best destiny.

The other major battleship in Task Group 5.4 is U.S.S. Fearless, NCC-59655, a Prometheus II class light cruiser. Like all Prometheus class ships, Fearless is capable of dividing into three frigate-size warships, each capable of operating semi-autonomously within a limited range from each other, a protocol known as "Multi-Vector Assault Mode."

Commanding Fearless is Captain Jennifer Mitchell, one of the youngest Captains in Starfleet. Though superficially human, Mitchell is a native of Palkao Est. Like all Esties, Mitchell is extremely driven and determined. She is also very sure of herself, a tendency that is deserved: Captain Mitchell routinely places near the top of Starfleet in tactical simulations and wargames, and is probably second only to Aldur in the task group as a battle strategist. Natives of Palkao Est are believed to be humans removed from Earth by the Preservers in 1st and 2nd century Europe. Over the centuries, Esties have developed in different ways from Earth humans -- they have more sensitive hearing and are more flexible and dextrous. However, Esties generally have no psi ability at all, and Mitchell is no exception in this regard. An Estie and a human cannot successfully breed without significant medical intervention; there have been significant genetic and chromosomal changes over the centuries since the Preservers separated out the Palkao Est natives.

Fearless herself is perfectly suited to Mitchell's command style. Though the amenities are minimal, the Prometheus II class is Starfleet's foremost combat ship and the crew takes great pride from that. All of them are supremely devoted to Starfleet and their ship. Before becoming trapped with the rest of Task Group 5.4, Fearless had earned three battle stars and single-handedly destroyed a Klingon Voodieh class dreadnought using the superior speed and maneuverability of her "vectors," the ships that Fearless separates into when she engages MVAM.

Task Group 5.4 includes two Katana class frigates, U.S.S. Coronado, NCC-97901 and U.S.S. Renegade, NCC-97902. Both ships are Marine frigates equipped with slipstream drives. The overall Marine contingent, including the Marines aboard Douglas MacArthur, about 1200 strong, is under the command of Colonel Jeremy Ironside from Coronado. Both ships are also light fighter carriers, with 16 Spectre class light fighters between them. Coronado's uniqueness to the group is in two forms: first, she is one of two LORASON-equipped ships in the group, giving the task group a view out to 60 light-years from the frigate. Second, Coro was refitted during the war to serve as a supply ship for four Wraith class Corvettes, Squadron SO-2, "The Raptors."

U.S.S. Renegade is unique among Katana class frigates in that she carries a full science and research suite in two of her detachable saucer sections, making her nearly the equal of an Intrepid class explorer. 'gade's crew is also weighted toward science- and diplomacy-trained personnel. Renegade also has a much lower resupply requirement than her sister ship. Unfortunately, the modifications that made Coro capable of resupplying the Wraiths removed much of her consumables and emergency storage, meaning that when a long-distance mission is required, it is Renegade that gets it. Vice Admiral Aldur is considering many options to address this, including trading some of the saucer segments between his two Katanas.

The commanding officer of Renegade is Captain Stuart Morgan, an Earth human in his late 30s. Morgan is somewhat of a free spirit, somewhat unusual for a Starfleet Captain. Like most Marine frigate COs, Morgan is a former Marine and former pilot. Unlike most Marine frigate COs, Morgan has an extremely dry, almost sarcastic wit and considers himself an ambassador to Starfleet and the Federation. He is also regarded as one of the foremost experts on Rihannsu culture in Starfleet, one of the reasons he was brought in to consult on the capture of the Rihannsu destroyer Sienov Temarr. Morgan hails from California, and like many Starfleet Captains, plays as hard as he works. Though Starfleet's charter is to "boldly go where no one has gone before," Morgan considers himself more of a soldier than an explorer. Renegade's configuration is slowly changing his view of himself -- he's finding he has a talent for exploration.

Of course, the commanding officer of Coronado is Fleet Captain Tebrun Lora Kor. Kor is a Trill whose symbiont is nearly 400 years old; the Tebrun host is Kor's seventh and is in his late 30s. The two are a stable pairing. Kor is a fatherly, serene personality that like many Trill, takes the long view of problems and situations. It is incredibly rare to see him frightened or angry, or possessed by any other negative emotion; he practically projects calm. Kor is an ex-engineer and ex-scientist, somewhat unusual for a Marine frigate CO but his Trill background and experience allows him to become extremely practical at need. He is a somewhat unconventional tactician, using his knowledge of history to remake past strategies fit present-day events and circumstances. Kor can see the good in almost anyone, and often struggles to make others of low self-esteem see themselves as he sees them.

Coronado is the primary repair and resupply ship for the task group's four Wraith class corvettes, Wraith Squadron SO-2, "The Raptors." The Wraiths, of course, are the reason why Task Group 5.4 is in the fix it is in. Without the Wraiths, the group would not have been able to successfully capture Sienov Temarr. For the capture operation, the Wraiths were configured as Wraith "Liberators," fielding the White Lightning computer weapon. However, Wraiths are modular and can be reconfigured to many different layouts. Normally, The Raptors are fitted in the "Avenger" configuration, which uses more conventional weapons than the Liberator variant.

Task Group 5.4's other five Starfleet capital ships are of small escort- and destroyer-size classes. Two are technically non-combatants, U.S.S. Swiftsure, NCC-65031 and U.S.S. Schweitzer, NCC-55019.

Swiftsure is a Norway class starship. Though technically listed as a destroyer, Norways are actually ambassadorial transports and blockade runners. Other than a pair of light torpedo launchers, their only real weapon is a forward-mounted heavy phaser cannon. The cannon is aimed by turning the entire ship in the direction of fire and for this reason, Swiftsure is quite maneuverable. Under normal circumstances, Norway class ships rely on their single heavy weapon and their maneuverability to win through blockaded systems or heavy interference. Norways are also noted for their opulent crew and guest comforts. Swiftsure was brought with the task group to serve as a negotiating location for the Camelynians, who were involved with the group's final mission in the Milky Way galaxy.

Skippers of Norway class ships often have a very deserved "daredevil" reputation, and the commanding officer of Swiftsure, Commander Morgan "Chappy" Chapel, is no exception. An Afrikaaner from Proxima Beta, Chappy has been accused of being a master manipulator. According to one story, one of her former instructors swore up and down that someone so beautiful would be completely unable to command respect... right up until Chappy allegedly dropped him to the deck with a well-placed knee. Such anecdotes commonly swirl around Chapel, who jokes that she wishes only half of them were true. However, her crew is every bit as enthusiastic as she is and her command style is a perfect match to both them and her ship. Chappy's crew would do anything for her, and she repays their loyalty by bringing them out of ugly situation after ugly situation... Chappy describes herself as a "balls out, take no prisoner type." She seems to have no illusions about her own strengths and limitations.

U.S.S. Schweitzer is Task Group 5.4's single medical frigate. The ship was along for the ride mostly because when the final mission in the Milky Way began, most of the crew of U.S.S. Odyssey was receiving treatment in Schweitzer's hospital wings. Armed with only minimal weapons and shields and carrying only light sensors, Schweitzer's talents are turned almost entirely inward, toward her hospital wings and recreational and rehabilitation facilities. Crew comforts aboard Hope class medical frigates are second only to Norway class facilities, and of course Schweitzer's crew leans heavily toward Starfleet's medical and life science specialties. However, there are a number of physical scientists aboard as well who were escaping the front lines aboard the frigate.

Like virtually all Hope class vessels, the commanding officer of U.S.S. Schweitzer is an M.D., in this case Commander Jania Shiid. Shiid is a Trill, but a relatively young one. The Shiid symbiont is only about a century old and the Jania host isn't quite 30 yet. As a result, Commander Shiid generally feels a little bit out of her league, especially in Task Group 5.4's current circumstances. She is more than content to "mind the store" and let the other ships and COs take the lead on how to get the task group home. It is not unusual for the crews of the other Starfleet ships to congregate aboard Schweitzer and take advantage of the medical frigate's recreational capabilities, and Shiid is happy to play host and den mother to the Federation-member sentients trapped in M64. Though not a particularly capable tactical CO, Shiid is a more than competent doctor and administrator. She is often the butt of practical jokes because she is extremely organized -- almost anal -- even by Starfleet standards...

An almost accidental member of the task group is U.S.S. Douglas MacArthur, NCC-77043, one of Starfleet's rare Tobruk class Marine transports. Capable of transporting 500 Starfleet Marines in relative comfort, MacArthur also incorporates 14 long-range assault transporters and extensive internal holodecks, intended for training of the ship's troops. Virtually any environment or assault scenario can be constructed in the ship's holodeck as the transport moves to its target, allowing the Marines to train for the upcoming mission while en route. Because Coronado lost many Marines during her capture of Blackrazor, MacArthur had been called in to replace Coro's troops and became trapped with the rest of the group.

In command of the transport is Lt. Colonel William Jonté. Born on Starbase 22, Jonté is a very experienced officer and is somewhat cynical. His training has made him very hard-edged, but his position means he frequently deals with Starfleet bureaucracy. He has little or no patience for what he terms "REMFs" -- the acronym is an extremely impolite nickname for rear-echelon brass -- and in his dark moods sees the Federation as stumbling from one disaster to another. He also has a very dry, somewhat sarcastic sense of humor, heightened all the more by the group's current situation. However, there is no denying that Jonté is a talented command officer and small unit tactician. He is a particularly good assault planner and seems to have the rare ability to put himself into the shoes of and think like his enemy, whomever that enemy might happen to be. Jonté definitely has a rare insight into human nature...

Task Group 5.4's single escort is U.S.S. Resolute, NCC-74211, a Defiant II class vessel. Every Federation schoolchild knows of the history of the Defiant class in her role as an anti-Borg weapons system. Like all Defiant IIs, Resolute is a medium-range tactical vessel supporting overpowered engines, weapons, and shields but minimal science, research, or long-term field capability. The ship can only stray 90 days flight-time from resupply, which means in M64, Resolute spends much of her time near the destroyed hypergate and the Camelynian worldship. However, when danger threatens the group, Resolute's slipstream capability can carry her into the firefight in minutes. Resolute also mounts sophisticated sensors and the group's second-best cloaking device and therefore often acts as one of Task Group 5.4's scouts.

The commanding officer of Resolute is Commander John Zort, a Federation colonist from Codis III. Codis, of course, was captured by the Romulans during the war, her attendant Starbase Arcadia utterly destroyed. For this reason, Zort is not exactly what you would call a fan of Romulans and is determined to "get back to home and to the war and win a little payback." For this reason, Commander Zort is one of the leading proponents in the group for long-range exploration. He is certain that where there is one Traxati hypergate, there must be others that can be used to get the task group home. Like many Defiant skippers and like many Federation colonists, Zort is a hard, stubborn man, and difficult to deflect from his target, whatever that target may be.

Task Group 5.4 also includes two escort destroyers, both Artemis class, U.S.S. Athena, NCC-92004 and U.S.S. Thonus, NCC-92085. Athena is under the command of Lt. Commander Ian Smythe, a Betazoid. Smythe has particularly strong telepathic and empathic talents and spends much of his off-hours in meditation, reestablishing his shields against the thoughts of others. Commanding Thonus is Lt. Commander Tokia Shras, of Andor. Shras is a fine tactician and battle commander like many Andorians... however, he is also quite able to see the practical situation the task group is in and is an advocate of peaceful exploration of the region.

The Artemis class is the replacement for the Excelsior class, and is a fine successor. Designed at Antares Fleet Yards near Andor, the Artemis class is maneuverable and survivable, and features crew amenities that are usually reserved for much larger ships. In particular, its weapons layout, twin deflector dishes, and heavy armoring on the warp nacelles -- an Andorian design trademark -- make the Artemis a fine tactical ship. However, Artemis destroyers also feature excellent sensor suites linked to their roles as escort and patrol destroyers.

No discussion of Task Group 5.4 would be complete without the reason for its entrapment. S.R.R. Sienov Temarr, SRR-1083 (named after "a sword fashioned from the night sky" in a Rihanna folktale) is a Ra'Kalen class destroyer formerly crewed by the Rihannsu Rei'Krannsu ("Rangers"). The reason the task group was gathered near Romulan space was to effect the capture of this ship, which was done successfully on SD 240103.26.

Blackrazor, as she is known internally within the task group, is about the size of a Starfleet escort destroyer, about six decks high and 150 meters long. She is much more heavily armed than a Starfleet destroyer, however, mounting twin subspace "warp guns" and a variety of other weaponry. Much like a Starfleet Wraith, she mounts twin miniature warp cores for speed and reliability and a very unusual but solid shield grid.

Blackrazor also features the most advanced cloak in the Rihannsu arsenal and until her capture mounted shroud and phase cloak gear that was unfortunately destroyed during the ship's capture. She was until recently the only transwarp-capable ship in the group -- one of the major reasons for her capture was to give Starfleet a reproduceable transwarp core arrangement. While data on Sienov Temarr's gear was transmitted to Starfleet R&D after the ship's capture, it is unknown whether Starfleet will be able to make any use of the data without the captured ship.

Task Group 5.4 also includes a number of Camelynian ships, starting with a "worldship" under the command of Duke Henry Gaveston-Tudor of Cambrian Veils, and her escort Camelynian destroyers. Camelyn is a long-time Federation associate member near Rihannsu space, and the subject of the group's final official mission in the Milky Way galaxy before being trapped in M64. Before joining the Federation, Camelyn was under almost constant attack by the Romulan Star Empire. There is a long history between the Camelynians and the Rihannsu, most of it unfriendly on both sides. While the two sides declared a brief truce during the Dominion War to attack the common enemy of that war, hostilities resumed on both sides not long after that conflict.

Camelynians are humanoids of technical development equivalent to about the late 23rd or early 24th centuries. However, the directions their technology have taken are very different from Federation technology. Camelynians are a warp- driven civilization whose engineering tends toward the "push-hard-until-it-moves" variety. Their ships are generally larger than necessary and over-powered and over-gunned for their size. As a result, their ships are sometimes harsh on their operators, fragile, difficult to maintain, or all three. Camelynians compensate for much of this through the use of extensive genetic reengineering of their species -- the major reason for their former status as an associate Federation member rather than a full one is their refusal to give up this genetic engineering. The typical Camelynian is twice as fast, agile, strong, and intelligent as the average human.

Camelyn is also interesting for being one of the galaxy's only technological civilizations which is still run as a feudal monarchy. Serfdom is still very much in effect despite the advanced technology, and the overall culture of Camelyn mirrors Renaissance Spain or France, complete with Knights, tournaments, and jousting (though with a technological edge). Language and ritual are extremely elaborate, combat training is quite common, and chivalry is regarded very highly. Personal honor is regarded above all things; in this way, the culture somewhat mirrors Klingon culture. However, Camelynians reject the comparison, since assassination is nearly non-existent, and Camelynians will never fight each other if another enemy is available. A Camelynian or group of them will sacrifice themselves to destroy a superior enemy at need to promote the survival of the overall group. Vice Admiral Aldur is a long-time friend and ally of the Camelynians, but even he has trouble negotiating with them from time to time. They are a very stubborn, headstrong people.

Easily the largest ship in Task Group 5.4 is the Camelynian Worldship Crystal Palace. At more than 3000 meters long, a Camelynian worldship is among the largest moving objects in known space, second only to a full-size Borg cube. Worldships were the first true starships the Camelynians constructed, and were initially envisioned as generational ships. As a result, there is room for thousands of people aboard them and the amenities are magnificent.

Crystal Palace is a typical modern Camelynian worldship made up of four modules. The most forward module is the recreational and living spaces, comprising a Dyson Sphere-style layout. The forward sphere spins around the ship's long axis, providing 1.2G gravity along the inside surface of the sphere. This area features living spaces (castles, plantations, and mansions, for the most part), tournament and training fields, and farmland. Light is provided by artificial means, mounted in the zero-G area at the center of the forward sphere. More than 1000 meters in diameter, the sphere interior could be mistaken for a planet's surface.

The second module, known as the Command Module, is cylindrical in shape and about 500 meters long. The command module is the most modern portion of a Camelynian worldship, mounting six warp nacelles capable of driving the worldship up to warp 5. Crystal Palace's CM is the area of the ship most familiar as part of a functional starship, and also stores the ship's reserve oxygen and other consumables. Crystal Palace also houses six squadrons of short-range Camelynian fighters and bombers, which are deployed and serviced from the CM.

The aft two modules are actually a combined module about 1500 meters long. Sometimes referred to as the "Memory Module", the worldship's aft spaces comprise a hemispherical area containing plant and animal life from Camelyn. Much of the ship's atmospheric processing is handled by the plantlife in the memory module, and the area could be mistaken for an enormous outdoor park on a planet's surface. The remainder of the memory module is given over to automated manufacturing, stasis chambers, computer control systems, and library and consumables storage. A fully stocked Camelynian worldship is capable of supplying the needs of nearly 10,000 sentients for almost a century with no resupply. Crystal Palace is very much Task Group 5.4's breadbasket and resupply point.

Crystal Palace is escorted and defended by two Camelynian Sword class destroyers, C.S. Rising Star and C.S. Javelin. Though they are called destroyers by the Camelynians, both ships are about 500 meters long with a wingspan of more than 600 meters, making both cruisers in actual fact if not name. Rising Star and Javelin are reminiscent of Rihannsu ships; Camelynians learned much of what they know of space travel from observing (and in some cases, capturing) Rihannsu ships over several hundred years. Camelynians are a big reason why the Rihannsu now generally self-destruct their ships rather than allow their capture by enemy forces.

Like all Camelynian ships, Rising Star and Javelin are both overpowered and overweaponed, in this case with plasma disruptors and mortars. As with much of the rest of Camelynian engineering, the ships rely on brute force rather than maneuverability and are virtually unstoppable by anything less than a full-size dreadnought. Camelynian ships are vulnerable to fighter attacks, however, and generally travel with a fair-size fighter escort. Sword class destroyers are unusual in that they have a large crew recreation facility at their "waists" that is open to starlight and can be artificially lighted. Camelynians insist on large, natural-looking areas for recreation and training.

Additional Camelynian ships have joined the group on two occasions. U.S.S. Vanguard was escorted by Camelynian destroyers C.S. Rapier and C.S. Sabre, which joined the Crystal Palace escort forces. In November 2401, ten new Camelynian ships entered M64 through the Hayashi hypergate, searching for Duke Henry Gaveston-Tudor, the leader of the Camelynian contingent. This new group of ships, known as "Task Group Lion," was centered around a Camelynian Hammer of Justice class carrier, the C.W. King Lan DuLac. Camelynian carriers are similar to, but about one-quarter the size of worldships, concentrating on the ability to deploy eight full squadrons of Camelynian fighters and bombers, their internal living spaces, and an enormous weapon of mass destruction capable of destroying worldship-size starships or even small planets! They lack the long-term field capability and manufacturing capabilities of their worldships, and require frequent resupply. The DuLac battlegroup includes a Camelynian cruiser (C.W. Queen Monique Lehman DuLac), four Camelynian destroyers (Fire Lance, Justicar, Phoenix, Hunter), two Camelynian frigates (Humility, Chivalry), a transport (C.W. Shining Bard) and a resupply ship for the carrier.

Finally, the task group includes three support ships. The first of these is M.R.F. Pearl, NS-1938, a Mobile Repair Facility or "Merf" (MRF) as they are affectionately known. MRFs are space-going docking frames large enough to accomodate a Starfleet heavy cruiser. Every MRF has a single warp nacelle and a control and living module attached and can reach speeds of up to warp 6. MRFs are always attended by small "tender" ships and tugboats. Pearl, in particular, has a pair of Atlas class Tugs associated with her as well as her standard tenders.

An Atlas class Tug is about 60 meters long and about 30 high and is geared to one thing: pulling weights much larger than themselves. A single Atlas class tug can tow a ship as large as a light cruiser single-handedly. Twelve of them can move an Ournal class starbase. Task Group 5.4's two Atlases are sufficent to move any ship in the group except Crystal Palace and Stirling at speeds of up to warp 2, and they can tow the smaller ships at even greater speeds. Atlases are also used to move large repair parts, such as full nacelles or Katana class saucer segments around Pearl.

Task Group 5.4 also includes two freighters, one part of Starfleet, the other not. Many such freighters were drafted into active task groups to provide repair parts, consumables storage, and other logistical needs.

The larger of the two freighters is U.S.S. Vladivostok, NCC-46920, a Marco Polo class freighter. Designed in the early 2330s, Marco Polos have remained virtually unchanged over the last 70 years, gaining only advanced cryogenic dueterium drives in the interim. They were the first freighter class to be armed with modern force recoupling phasers, but even a modern runabout outguns a Marco Polo, whose weapons are mostly useful for clearing interstellar debris and warding off pirates. Vladivostok is essentially a flying cargo ship, with a top speed of warp 8, six decks, and 12 cargo bays of various sizes. She is about 200 meters long and about 40 high. Vice Admiral Aldur ordered this ship modified to serve as an additional resupply and rearming point for the Wraith squadron. Other than this, Vladivostok is an unglamorous but necessary part of Starfleet life. The ship is skippered by Lieutenant Lloyd Mason of Atlanta, on Earth.

The second freighter in the group is Yamashita Maru, under Yoshiro Mori, vessel master. Yamashita is a standard Antares class freighter and until recently, part of the Starfleet merchant marine. This freighter is completely unarmed, has no sensors of note, and has a maximum speed of warp 4. Much of the crew was evacuated in the Hayashi system, but when it became clear that even the fastest ships would be unable to escape the supernova, Yamashita and her supplies were sent through the gate with the other ships. The crew has since been returned.

Task Group 5.4 is trapped in the galaxy known in the Milky Way as M64, the "Black Eye" galaxy, for the dark portions which obscure part of the core. A relatively small galaxy by such standards, M64's core is between 3,000 and 6,000 light-years in diameter, and lies at the center of a galaxy of about 40,000 light-years total diameter. The destroyed Traxati hypergate lies in orbit of a red giant star nicknamed "Gateway" by the group, and lies about 8,000 light-years from galactic center.

As stated earlier, M64 is 19,000,000 light-years from the Milky Way, and in the likelihood that Task Group 5.4 is trapped here forever, Vice Admiral Aldur has already decided that Gateway will be placed on the border between the new "Alpha" and "Beta" quadrants, in a position similar to the one that Sol holds in the Milky Way. Presumably out of hope for luck, Aldur has further declared that the majority of initial exploration will be done in the new "Alpha" Quadrant... with the primary goal of Task Group 5.4 being to find another Traxati gateway here: one that can take us home. Many in the group are hopeful that such a gate can be found, and that it will be nearby. After all, fewer than 1000 light-years separates the site of the former Hayashi system and the gates in Brimstone and Wormwood.

In the meantime, there is a brand new galaxy... with brand new dangers and opportunities... to explore.

Once you're done here, tap Back to return to the Coronado Setting information index or the Return key at the bottom of your PADD, and you will be returned to the main index.